Canada on Track to Meet 2021 Target: Immigration Minister

Key Highlights

• Overview
• Minister on IRCC
• Immigration Target
• Travel Restrictions
•   Safety Measures

On Friday, the Canadian Minister for Immigration Marco Mendicino suggested that Canada is on track to meet the immigration target set for 2021.

Minister on IRCC

The Minister said that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has ‘sprinted out of the gates’ with its immigrant admissions this year.

He said that the immigrants invited until before the February 13 draw were 40% ahead of where Canada needs to be to achieve its target in 2021.

Immigration Target

Last year, the federal government set a massive target of inviting 401,000 candidates for permanent residence in the Land of Maple.

Over 26,000 candidates were admitted in draws held throughout January 2021. This translates to a mere 10% increase from January 2020.

The February 13 draw, however, invited a whopping 27,332 candidates, five times more than the previous record-holding draw.

Travel Restrictions

The Canadian borders are still closed after the travel restrictions were in place in March 2020 due to the onset of Covid-19. After this, the number of immigrants fell by a staggering 50%.

This low number meant that the country’s population growth slowed to a halt in 2020.

In the February 13 draw, the IRCC invited all candidates who applied for the Canadian Experience Class.   

Over 90% of those candidates were already in Canada. Thus, they were less likely to face Covid-19-related immigration disruptions that their counterparts living in other countries.

Safety Measures

Despite the restrictions, the country has again displayed its ability to adapt its immigration policies and attract hopeful immigrants to strengthen its economy.

It has enhanced screening procedures and mandated pre-arrival testing and a 14-day quarantine period for non-essential travellers.  

Since February 22, everyone coming to Canada for non-essential travel must stay in hotels designated by the government for three days at their own cost.