Question Period Note - Immigration Levels Plan For 2023-2025

Date: September 22, 2023

Classification:

Department: IRCC

Issue:

Canada’s projected immigration levels for 2023 to 2025

Proposed Response:

• The Government of Canada is committed to an immigration system that contributes to economic growth, supports diversity and helps build vibrant, dynamic and inclusive communities.
• The 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan, tabled in Parliament on November 1, 2022, projects continued growth in permanent resident admissions with targets of 465,000 in 2023; 485,000 in 2024; and 500,000 in 2025.
• The Levels Plan sets out a path for responsible increases to immigration targets to support economic growth and address labour market shortages for different regions. Over half of all planned admissions are dedicated to the economic class.
• In 2022, Canada welcomed more a historic number of 437,539 new permanent residents, surpassing the target of 431,645 and the previous record from 2021 (405,332).
• In line with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Francophone Immigration Strategy, launched in 2019, the current Levels Plan includes a target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec by 2023.
• Canada achieved the milestone of 4.4% (16,380) of French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec in 2022, a year in advance of the target, and is working towards achieving it again in 2023.
• The Department is currently developing its 2024-2026 Levels Plan to build on this momentum, and continue to meet our economic objectives, fill critical labour market vacancies and continue to have Canada’s diversity flourish.
• Increasing immigration will help cement Canada’s place among the world’s top destinations for talent, while reuniting family members with their loved ones and fulfilling Canada’s humanitarian commitments, including on Afghanistan resettlement.

Responsive – Francophone Immigration

• Canada’s population was estimated to exceed 39M residents as of January 1, 2023, with growth of over a million people in a 12‑month period. Both permanent and temporary migration represented 95% of the increase.
• From January to August 2023, a total of 338,905 new permanent resident admissions was recorded, representing 73% of the target (465,000). This is a slight increase from admissions recorded during the same period in 2022 of 338,663.
• Increases to Canada’s population help to ease labour shortages and support employers looking to fill job vacancies, offset Canada’s declining birth rate, and contribute to economic growth. Immigration-driven population growth plays an important role in restoring the vitality of Francophone minority communities.
• Most French-speaking permanent resident admissions outside of Quebec are achieved through the economic class, representing a total of 70% between 2018 and 2022, with almost two-thirds (60%) coming via the Federal High Skilled program.
• Earlier this year, Canada introduced additional changes to Express Entry, the application management system for most economic immigration programs, to support targeted selection through category based selection (CBS) offering additional opportunities to expand on Francophone immigration.
• By August 2023, 5,701 French-speaking candidates were invited in the first three CBS rounds, with further rounds planned for the rest of 2023 to support reaching future targets.
• Restoring the demographic weight of Francophone minority communities requires a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach to support the successful integration and retention of French-speaking newcomers.
• IRCC will continue to leverage its policies and programs and enhance collaboration efforts with key federal partners, provinces and territories and stakeholders while monitoring and adjusting its approach as needed.

Contact:
Emmanuelle Deault-Bonin
A/Director General, (Strategic Policy and Planning)
Tel. No.: 613-697-6653

Approved by:
Louise Baird
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, (Strategic and Program Policy)
Tel. No.: 613-437-6752

Background:

2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan

• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act requires that the immigration minister table the Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, including the Immigration Levels Plan for the following year, by November 1, or within 30 sitting days if a House of Parliament is not sitting on November 1.
• The 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan increases immigration levels to 465,000 in 2023; 485,000 in 2024; and 500,000 in 2025 to help achieve economic, family, and refugee objectives over the next three years.
• This plan features broad ranges to manage any residual COVID-19 related impacts and uncertainties like client behavior (i.e., willingness/ability to travel).
• The class proportions of the plan are maintained:
  • Admissions are increased in the Economic class to approximately 60% of overall admissions by 2025.
  • There is significant growth in regional programs to support provincial and territorial efforts to address labour market shortages through their nominee programs.
  • Family class reaches 118,000 admissions by 2025, with increases focused on the Parents and Grandparents program.
  • Refugees and Protected Persons admissions increase to 76,305 in 2023, before decreasing to 72,750 by 2025.
  • The Humanitarian, Compassionate and Other category increases to 15,985 in 2023, before decreasing to 8,000 by 2024.
  • Refugee and humanitarian admissions include Government commitments to welcoming those fleeing Afghanistan.
• While Canadians remain generally supportive of the value of immigration and its positive outcomes on the economy and labour market growth, there has been growing public concerns over the rapid pace and volume of immigration, especially in larger urban centers, and Canada’s ability to absorb the added pressures on an already overstretched healthcare system, limited affordable housing and infrastructure.

Mandate Commitment: Delivering the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan is a part of the December 2021 mandate commitment to “continue to bring newcomers to Canada to drive economic growth and recovery.”

Levels planning: By setting targets and planning ranges for each of the immigration categories, the Government of Canada establishes priorities among economic, social, and refugee objectives. Levels planning then enables the Department and its partners to allocate processing, security, and settlement resources accordingly. The Department also has a statutory obligation to consult provinces and territories on its projections in the levels plan.

Multi-year planning: In fall 2017, Canada introduced its first multi-year immigration levels plan in over a decade. The upcoming 2024-2026 Levels Plan will add an additional year (2026) to the current 2023-2025 Levels Plan, maintaining the three-year planning horizon set out in last year’s plan. Prior to the 2018-2020 Immigration Levels Plan, the most recent multi-year plan was in 2001-2002. Three- and five-year plans were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s.

A multi-year approach provides the means to set out a longer-term vision for immigration. It supports better planning by securing approvals and investments earlier, providing time for the Department and partners to increase capacity and to prepare to manage higher volumes of applications.

The levels plan is a statement of public policy and is a key tool to communicate the Government’s immigration priorities to partners (including provinces and territories), stakeholders, and the public.

Canada is recognized internationally (e.g., Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) for its approach to managed migration, including specifically its use of immigration levels plans for setting transparent priorities and targets. Canada is among very few countries, like Australia and New Zealand, that have also adopted this approach.

Quebec: Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has full responsibility for the selection and settlement of immigrants destined to the province (except Family Class and in-Canada refugee claimants). The Accord commits the federal government to take into consideration Quebec’s desired levels in all categories. Quebec’s immigration levels plan is established annually and incorporated in the federal levels plan.

Processing times: Processing times for applications for permanent residence can be affected by a number of factors including available levels space as well as processing capacity within IRCC and its partners. Currently, processing times have been affected by a focus on in-Canada clients as well as more straight-forward applications, which leaves more complex inventory in some lines of business.