November 10, 2022

What Is Canada’s Immigration Policy 2022?

Canada has gained popularity as a leading destination for immigrants and refugees because of its relatively liberal and well-regulated immigration laws. By using laws and regulations, the government decides who is permitted to immigrate to Canada. An immigration policy has been established since Confederation to boost the population, acquire new land, and provide labor and capital to the economy. A number of migrant groups have been exposed to discriminatory restrictions as a result of immigration laws that frequently take into account existing racial attitudes or national security concerns.

 

Who is in charge of immigration?

Since the Second World War, three separate federal government departments or agencies have been in charge of immigration policy: the Ministry of Mines and Resources (1936–1949), the Department of Citizenship and Immigration (1950–66, 1992–2016), the Department of Manpower and Immigration (1966–77), and the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission (1977–1992). Since 2016, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada have been in charge of immigration (IRCC). ­

The British North America Act divides constitutional responsibility for immigration between the provincial and federal governments. However, for most of Canada's history, Ottawa has controlled this policy area, even though Ontario has been particularly concerned with immigration since the Second World War, Quebec since the mid-1960s, and British Columbia since 2010. As of 2017, all provinces and certain territories had agreements with Ottawa that allowed them to pick and recruit immigrants based on their social and economic requirements. However, Quebec is by far the most autonomous province in terms of immigration policy.

In 1968, Quebec established its own immigration service. Its primary aim has been to attract as many French-speaking immigrants to the province as possible and to guarantee that immigrants who settle in Quebec become part of the francophone society. Quebec was the first province to enter into a special immigration treaty with the federal government. The federal government is likewise working to boost the number of French-speaking immigrants to Canada.

Every province (excluding Québec, which has its own, equivalent scheme) has formed a Provincial Nominee Program in recent years, allowing provincial governments to nominate certain immigration candidates with the provision that they stay in that province for a length of time.

Even though the programs differ from province to province, they all typically have two objectives: to promote population growth and to draw immigrants with desirable job skills or language abilities into a province's workforce. Certain initiatives enable immigrants to expedite their applications for admission to Canada. Through Provincial Nominee Programs, over 51,000 immigrants (out of a total of about 300,000) were anticipated to get permanent residency in Canada in 2017.

 

What role has immigration historically played in Canada?

Immigration has had a profound impact on Canadian society and culture, much as it has in the United States. Following gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1867, Canada exploited immigration to assist in the development of enormous areas of land. Government-sponsored information campaigns and recruiters urged that generation's immigrants to settle in rural, frontier regions.

However, not all immigrants were accepted. Certain non-European and non-Christian populations, as well as the impoverished, ill, and crippled, were prohibited or discouraged from immigrating due to laws in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As refugees and other people fled Europe, societal perceptions toward immigrants shifted, and economic expansion required a bigger workforce. Canada's immigration calculation evolved throughout this time. Canada's predilection for anti-Communist and Soviet bloc immigration was impacted by Cold War tensions as well.

The foundation for Canada's current immigration policy, which promotes multiculturalism, was built by legislation passed in the 1960s and 1970s. After Ottawa implemented a points-based system for assessing candidates, Canada experienced a spike in immigration from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The government's support for cultural diversity was first stated in a policy from 1971, and legislation from 1976 codified this commitment explicitly. It also required that federal and provincial officials jointly develop immigration targets and frame immigration as a tool for achieving the nation's cultural, economic, and social goals.

The economy of Canada has historically benefited from immigration, which brings in a steady stream of relatively youthful employees. As the native-born workforce ages and the fertility rate stays low at about 1.5 births per woman, immigrants have gained importance. Despite efforts to draw in this group of immigrants, Canada still faces a shortfall of qualified employees. Almost a quarter of all workers in Canada today are immigrants.

 

Who moves to Canada and where do they establish themselves?

The largest amount in more than a century, Canada awarded almost 401,000 foreigners permanent status in 2021. Most of the new permanent residents in Canada were from India, and many of them were professionals with advanced degrees. In 2022, the Canadian government anticipates receiving 411,000 new permanent residents.

Ontario has historically been the most popular place for immigrants to settle. Nearly 49% of all new permanent residents arrived in the province in the first 10 months of 2021, with the bulk settling in and around Toronto, the country's largest metropolis.

 

How does the immigration procedure in Canada work?

There are four primary groups into which Canada accepts new permanent residents. In 2019, the economic stream was used to admit 58% of new permanent residents, followed by family sponsorship for 27%, protected people and refugees for 14%, and humanitarian or others for 1%.

Economic: The economic immigration system in Canada has been hailed as a role model for other nations. Federal high-skilled worker programs are where the majority of economic immigrants enter the country. Many use a point-based application process that favors younger applicants with employment offers and high levels of education, experience, and language competence (i.e., English and French). The government issues invitations to high-ranking people every two weeks to apply for permanent residence, a pricey and involved procedure that involves language tests and biometric screening. The majority of candidates hear back within six months.

A quarter of all immigrants in 2019 came through the Provincial Nominee Program, the second-largest economic immigration route. People can apply to particular provinces through this procedure, as well as through related initiatives with a focus on Quebec, and those provinces will choose applicants who meet their economic needs. Although it still has to accept immigrants who are backed by a province, the federal government gives most of them permanent status. The Canadian approach to provincial immigration has aroused attention in the United States, where regional initiatives might spur development in cities with declining populations.

Family: This category of immigrants includes partners, spouses, and kids who are joining family members who already reside in Canada. This scheme allows legal permanent residents to sponsor their relatives, who must also submit a permanent residency application. Even though a pair is not officially married, Canada will nevertheless accept them under this immigration category provided they can show that their relationship has been going on for a while.

Protected persons and refugees: More than 28,000 displaced persons, largely from Africa and the Middle East, were granted permanent status by Canada in 2018, surpassing the United States as the world's top resettlement country for refugees. (Due to pandemic restrictions, that number decreased to a little over 9,000 in 2020.) Government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees are the two primary categories of refugees relocated. Refugees who get government help during their transition are referred to by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees depending on their location and level of vulnerability. Privately sponsored refugees, who made up more than half of all refugees resettled in Canada in 2020, are brought to the country by individuals and groups who have received government approval and who are responsible for their legal and financial well-being. All are subjected to stringent vetting by Canadian authorities, and most are already citizens when they land.

 

Modern Immigration Policy Changes

After the terrorist attacks of September 11 on the United States, Canada amended its 1976 Immigration Act to create the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in 2001. The new Act, which went into effect in 2002, kept many of the tenets and regulations of the earlier one, including the various immigration classifications. Additionally, it expanded the definition of "family" to encompass common-law and same-sex couples.

Most crucially, the 2001 Act expanded the government's ability to hold and deport illegal immigrants who could pose a threat to national security. The Canada-United States Safe Third Country Agreement outlawed the practice of enabling people to enter one nation on a tourist visa and apply for refugee status at the border of the other in 2004. However, this strategy has drawn criticism, with many detractors contending that because of the US' more antagonistic stance toward immigration, it is not a "safe third nation" for migrants.

 

What do Canadians think about immigration?

The general population in Canada has long had a positive attitude toward immigration. Only approximately 30% of Canadians said in a 2021 survey that they thought immigration numbers were too high. Compared to Americans, Canadians tend to have a more favorable opinion of immigrants and their country's immigration policy. This is partly attributable to the government of Canada's initiatives to advance multiculturalism as a policy, welcome variety, and strengthen the sense of nationalism. Canada has not experienced widespread illegal immigration, a problem that has stoked anti-immigrant sentiment in many other nations, particularly the United States. Nevertheless, some studies indicate that the general public's support for immigration can be susceptible to change.

 

Would you like to immigrate to Canada?

If you're one of the numerous individuals moving to Canada in search of a prosperous life, you're not alone. So you've made the perfect decision! However, moving to Canada is not a straightforward process, so you will undoubtedly require the assistance of someone with extensive knowledge of the immigration process. There are numerous available migration consultants, but many of them are not straightforward. Our main objective at Pelican Migration Consultants is to provide you with all the knowledge you need to make the best decisions. We will assist you in organizing your immigration to Canada so that you may finally live a prosperous life in the nation of your choice.

It is important to get in touch with Canadian Immigration Consultants who can help and guide you through the procedure because immigration standards and laws are always changing and difficult to understand and follow. We offer specialized one-on-one support to make sure you perform at your peak in front of the Canadian Immigration Department. We assist customers in assessing their prospects of being granted a visa, preparing them for visa interviews and providing feedback, and creating a unique immigration strategy plan for each client.