SOCI – Immigration Levels Plan For 2023-2025 – September 28, 2023
Date: Mar, 23, 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. Over half of all planned admissions are dedicated to the economic class.
- In 2022, Canada welcomed more than 437,000 new permanent residents, and the 2023-2025 Levels Plan builds on this momentum.
- 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
- The Government of Canada is working to transform our world-class immigration system, linking immigration levels to labour market gaps and reducing wait times.
- Public support for immigration in Canada has remained generally stable and relatively strong for many years. Focus group research indicates that the economic and social impacts of immigration and refugees remain positive.
- Canada will continue welcoming newcomers who bring the skills our economy needs to grow. The multi-year levels plan focuses on attracting skilled workers who will contribute to Canada’s economy, while recognizing the importance of family reunification and helping the world’s most vulnerable populations through refugee resettlement.
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)
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 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 concerned about public health and job security, overall public support for immigration in Canada has remained stable and relatively strong. In particular, IRCC research conducted in March 2022 showed that 76% of Canadians say that immigration has a positive impact on Canada while 72% say the same about their province. In private sector polling, the Environics Research Institute’s Focus Canada research from October 2022 found that 85% of Canadians agree that immigration has a positive economic impact on the country, the highest level since they first asked this question almost 30 years ago.
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, as set out in the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan.”
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.
Multi-year planning: In fall 2017, Canada introduced its first multi-year immigration levels plan in over a decade. The current plan adds an additional year (2024), 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, which have also adopted this approach.
Quebec: Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has full responsibility for the selection 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.
2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan
| Immigrant Category | 2023 | 2024Table note 10 | 2025Table note 10 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Low RangeTable note 11 | High RangeTable note 11 | Target | Low RangeTable note 11 | High RangeTable note 11 | Target | Low RangeTable note 11 | High RangeTable note 11 | ||
| Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions | 465,000 | 410,000 | 505,000 | 485,000 | 430,000 | 542,500 | 500,000 | 442,500 | 550,000 | |
| Economic | Federal High SkilledTable note 1 | 82,880 | 67,750 | 88,000 | 109,020 | 89,500 | 115,750 | 114,000 | 93,500 | 121,000 |
| Federal Economic Public PoliciesTable note 2 | 25,000 | 19,500 | 32,750 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Federal BusinessTable note 3 | 3,500 | 2,350 | 4,000 | 5,000 | 3,500 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | |
| Economic Pilots:Table note 4 CaregiversTable note 5; Agri-Food Pilot; Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot; Economic Mobility Pathways Project |
8,500 | 4,650 | 10,800 | 12,125 | 6,750 | 16,125 | 14,750 | 9,000 | 19,750 | |
| Atlantic Immigration Program | 8,500 | 3,000 | 8,800 | 11,500 | 6,000 | 12,500 | 14,500 | 8,500 | 16,500 | |
| Provincial Nominee Program | 105,500 | 91,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 | 105,500 | 120,000 | 117,500 | 112,000 | 129,250 | |
| Quebec Skilled Workers and BusinessTable note 6 | See the Quebec immigration plan | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||
| Total Economic | 266,210 | 233,000 | 277,250 | 281,135 | 250,000 | 305,000 | 301,250 | 265,000 | 326,000 | |
| Family | Spouses, Partners and Children | 78,000 | 72,000 | 84,000 | 80,000 | 75,000 | 86,000 | 82,000 | 77,000 | 88,000 |
| Parents and Grandparents | 28,500 | 25,000 | 38,000 | 34,000 | 29,000 | 45,000 | 36,000 | 30,750 | 48,000 | |
| Total Family | 106,500 | 100,000 | 118,000 | 114,000 | 105,000 | 130,000 | 118,000 | 107,000 | 135,000 | |
| Refugees and Protected Persons | Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 25,000 | 22,000 | 35,000 | 27,000 | 24,000 | 38,000 | 29,000 | 26,000 | 35,000 |
| Resettled Refugees – Government AssistedTable note 7 | 23,550 | 18,500 | 30,000 | 21,115 | 16,750 | 26,000 | 15,250 | 12,000 | 17,000 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Privately Sponsored | 27,505 | 20,000 | 29,000 | 27,750 | 22,000 | 29,500 | 28,250 | 23,000 | 30,000 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Blended Visa Office-Referred | 250 | - | 400 | 250 | - | 400 | 250 | - | 400 | |
| Total RefugeesTable note 8 and Protected Persons | 76,305 | 66,000 | 93,000 | 76,115 | 66,000 | 93,000 | 72,750 | 64,000 | 80,000 | |
| Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other | Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and OtherTable note 9 | 15,985 | 11,000 | 16,750 | 13,750 | 9,000 | 14,500 | 8,000 | 6,500 | 9,000 |
| French-speaking immigration admissions necessary to meet 2023 objective in Francophone Immigration Strategy (PDF, 582 KB)Table note 12 | 15,862 | 19,910 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||