The Government of Canada has confirmed that it is committed to an immigration system that strengthens the country’s middle class through economic growth and attracting investment.

It means that there are likely to be more opportunities for people with skills and those wanting to start a business in Canada in 2017 to become a permanent resident.

Canada
In a statement Immigration Minister John McCallum said that he expects that around 300,000 immigrants will come to Canada in 2017 and one aim will be to reunite more families and reduce visa processing times.

He wants Canada’s immigration system to support diversity and help build vibrant, dynamic and inclusive communities with policies taking into account information gleaned over the summer from an immigration consultation where people were asked to express what they think immigration means.

‘The story of Canadian immigration is inseparable from the story of Canada itself. Over the summer, Canadians from coast to coast to coast were asked to help write the next chapter of our immigration story. Through wide-ranging consultations we heard from Canadians on what immigration means to them and how we can continue nation building,’ said McCallum.

‘The 2017 levels plan is a thoughtful, responsible approach that takes into consideration Canada’s need for more immigrants while balancing our fiscal responsibilities,’ he explained.

‘The 2017 levels plan will put Canada in a strong position for the future and support our overall economic and social development as a country,’ he added.

He also pointed out that immigration is important because it helps offset the impacts of an aging population and the fact that the number of people in Canada’s labour force will soon be in decline.

Indeed, immigration will soon account for all net labour force growth as the number of retirements outpaces the number of Canadian youth joining the labour market. ‘For these reasons, the Government has established 300,000 as a new baseline for permanent resident admissions with the majority of these selected as economic immigrants,’ said McCallum.

He explained that it means that the number of permanent residents selected in economic programmes will increase and planned admissions of resettled refugees will decrease but remain among the highest in Canada’s history and will be more than double the target in 2015.

The 2017 plan target includes the number of economic immigrants rising from 160,600 to 172,500, family visas rising from 80,000 to 84,000, and refugees falling from 55,800 to 40,000.

McCallum also released figures showing how the number of permanent residents from overseas has steadily increased in recent years from 248,732 in 2011 to 247,809 in 2012, to 259,039 in 2013, to 260,282 in 2014, to 271,847 in 2015.