Canada aims to welcome more than 1.3 million new permanent residents

Today, the Canada Immigration Levels Plan for 2022-2024 was announced by Immigration Minister Sean Frase

There are some notable takeaways from the Canada Immigration Levels Plan for 2022-2024:

1 — Canada aims to accept 431,645 new permanent residents in 2022, with more than 1.3 million to be welcomed between 2022 and 2024. These are the highest figures in Canadian history.

As well, these figures only account for new permanent residents. They don’t include the hundreds of thousands of temporary residents who enter Canada each year as temporary workers and international students.

2 — 57% of Canada’s new permanent residents will be admitted through economic pathways. These pathways prioritize skilled workers and their accompanying family members.

In recent years, the most popular pathway for skilled worker immigration to Canada has been the Express Entry system. In 2022, Express Entry aims to admit approximately 56,000 newcomers per year. This means that Express Entry admissions make up only 13 percent percent of total admissions. This is a decrease of nearly 50 percent from the 2021 targets which aimed to admit 108,500 newcomers through Express Entry — amounting to 27 percent of total admissions.

Notably, in 2022, another 83,500 newcomers will be admitted through Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), many of which are aligned with Express Entry but are listed separately in the Immigration Levels Plan.

The Express Entry targets will increase to 75,750 in 2023 — still much lower than in years past. By 2024, Express Entry targets exceed their pre-pandemic levels — rising to a target of 111,500.

3 — Although economic immigration may be one priority, Canada is maintaining a commitment to family reunification, refugees and asylum seekers.

Family reunification, or family sponsorship, includes the sponsorship of spouses, partners, children, parents, and grandparents by Canadian permanent residents and citizens. In 2022, Canada aims to admit more than 105,000 newcomers through family class pathways. This is a slight increase from the previous year.

For more information, contact our team.