Pandemic forces immigrants to leave Canada

So can the country achieve its immigration goals in 2021?

According to an analysis of Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, the number of permanent residents who have been in Canada for less than five years will drop by 4% from 1,060,000 to 1,019,000 by the end of 2020.

Although during the previous 10 years their number increased on average by 3% annually.

The data shows that the number of permanent residents who have been in Canada for 5 to 10 years has also fallen from 1,170,000 in 2019 to 1,146,000 in 2020.

"In fact, it's not uncommon for immigrants to return home in times of recession," says Robert Falconer, a researcher at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. — For example, if they've lost their jobs, they may return to their family, not pay rent and perhaps find a temporary part-time job."

The researcher also noted that the number of new immigrants dropped by about 3 per cent from 2008 to 2009 during the financial crisis and the recession that followed. He added that many of those who left last year may not return unless the economy recovers quickly: "The longer they stay in their countries, the less chance they have of coming back to Canada.

A Statistics Canada study released in August found that in the early months of the pandemic, newly arrived immigrants were more likely to lose their jobs than workers of Canadian origin. This was mainly because most of them were employed in the service sector, which was the hardest hit.

Julien Berard-Chagnon, an analyst with Statistics Canada, said the agency does not keep monthly records of immigrants leaving the country, but his team of analysts is now working on a paper to examine the issue in detail during the COVID-19 pandemic: "The data so far indicate that immigrants, especially recent immigrants, are more likely to leave Canada than the population of Canadian origin."

While the pandemic has also led to a drop in immigration to Canada of about 40% in 2020 compared to 2019, the Liberal government announced in October that Canada aims to accept more than 1.2 million new permanent residents in the next three years, including 401,000 this year.

Despite travel restrictions and an acute economic situation in the country, the Canadian government is very confident that it will meet its immigration goals in the next three years.

"We took in more new permanent residents in January 2021 than we did in January 2020 when there was no pandemic," the statement said. — We are already ahead of schedule, taking in 37% more newcomers than we expected."

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"It's the best thing you can do for the people who live here," he said. — But in terms of population growth, it's a wash, which means we're not really increasing our population. These policies are necessary, but not sufficient to help the government reach its high immigration goal this year."

He added that not every temporary resident wants to become a permanent resident or Canadian citizen. Some come here to work and study, planning to return home in the future.

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