Canada’s Immigration Goals of 2022

Despite being amidst a global pandemic complete with travel restrictions and varied vaccination statuses, Canada continued to bring in thousands of immigrants. In 2021, 401000 immigrants flew in and made their new home in the country. This actually breaks Canada’s record, which makes 2021 a significant year for Canada. Even with new Covid variants emerging, it doesn’t stop Canada from reaching its immigration goals. 

At the end of every year, the prime minister of Canada presents a mandate letter to the minister of the IRC. In it, he also demonstrates immigration goals that he wants Canada to meet for the following year. Some are applicable to international students.

In Summary

This article only provides you with the highlights but You can read the entire letter for yourself if you’d like further information. 

Before Trudeau states the immigration goals of the following year, he also goes over:

• The effect of the pandemic on Canadian and the economy
• Extreme climate change pushing for cleaner jobs
• The unmarked graves and burial sites at old residential schools
• IRC’s relationship with journalists
• Economic recovery by means of immigration

Following his opening, he lists a number of immigration goals that he would like Canada to achieve. Here are just some of those: 

• Faster application processing–currently it could take at least 12 weeks for your application to process. If Canada meets their application processing goal, applicants won’t have to spend months waiting for their results.

• Expand express entry pathways–while there are plenty of pathways that already exist, Trudeau wishes to open a path through the agricultural industry. This is a new and exciting opportunity for international students and temporary foreign workers to consider.

• Waive Canadian citizenship application fees–this is only available for people who are already permanent residents and want to take the final step to become Canadian. If an applicant has already filled in all the requirements, he sees no need for them to pay more fees.

• Reunite more families–a new program may be implemented to issue temporary residence to immediate family members while they wait for permanent residence status application to be processed. If you have immediate family, this could be the year they join you in Canada.

• Improve Global Talent Stream–Trudeau would like this to be done by establishing a Trusted Employer Program for Canadian companies hiring temporary foreign workers. The improvement will also simplify permit renewals, take no more than two weeks to process, and establish an employer hotline. This allows foreign workers to find work easily while protecting themselves from potential fraud. 

Everything addressed in the email is to meet the 2021-2023 Multi-Year Levels Plan. The plan was implemented to offset the effects that an aging population and Covid had on the country. Another reason why there are new commitments is because Canada always has an immigration quota to meet. Not even a pandemic will stop Canada from taking in more people who want to start a new life. The new goals demonstrate that Trudeau understands the situation and is working around it.

For Future Potential Immigrants

Ultimately, this letter is for your information; it’s even good news. Canada is opening up more pathways for international students. With more pathways, there’s more opportunities to start a new life in Canada. Many people choose to become an international student then transition to be a permanent resident and eventually a citizen. The Great North beckons people from around the globe to become a part of it. 

Canada wants to keep pushing for diverse communities and a well-established economy. None of it would be possible if it weren’t for skilled immigrants coming. 

Source: IRC Mandate Letter