New Canadian Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025

If all goes according to plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will establish a new record in 2023 by welcoming 465,000 newcomers. If so, that would mean that Canada has surpassed its 1913 record of 400,000 new permanent residents for the third year in a row.

It’s also very different from what we’ve seen in previous years. Typically, Federal High Skilled workers are the largest source of newcomers through programs like Express Entry; however, this plan is increasing the importance of regional immigration programs like PNP. The Provincial Nominee Programs will welcome the highest number of new permanent residents each year over the next three years, according to the 2023-2025 levels plan.

Minister Fraser indicated that Express Entry will allow for 305,820 new immigrants as well as begin to use targeted draws to attract newcomers to regions in need of immigrants.

The Canadian government continues to demonstrate its commitment to family reunification. From 2023-2025, IRCC aims to admit many family-class immigrants; 240,000 spouses, common-law partners, and dependant children, as well as 98,500 parents and grandparents.

The Atlantic Immigration Program will welcome 34,500 newcomers along with 35,370 Caregivers; Agri-Food; Rural and Northern workers.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is also planning to welcome 225,170 Refugees and Protected Persons along with 37,735 Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations newcomers.

Maintaining a strong economy is one of the primary reasons Canada welcomes high levels of immigration.

Canada’s rapidly aging population, with one of the world’s oldest populations and one of the lowest birth rates, has created a situation where Canada’s population is not replacing itself.

This causes economic and financial strain. Canada’s low rate of natural population growth results in a minimal labor force and economical expansion.

As the birth rate in Canada falls and is likely to fall further due to economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, Canada will become increasingly dependent on immigrants for population and economic growth.

Without strong economic growth, it becomes more challenging for Canada to bring in the revenue required through taxes to pay for social expenditures on programs such as education and healthcare. These services are important not only because they improve the quality of life, but also because they contribute to maintaining high living standards overall in the country.

Because of this, Canada has been raising the number of immigrants it accepts since the late 1980s in order to help speed up its rate of population, meaning more workers which helps with economic growth. Now, immigration is responsible for most of Canada’s population and labor force growth as well as a large part of its economic development. On a per capita basis, Canada welcomes three times more immigrants than America.

In 2030, 9 million baby boomers in Canada will reach the retirement age of 65. With fewer workers and increased social spending on health care, Canada has raised its immigration targets for over 30 years now to proactively alleviate this challenge.