toronto-flag-lake-towerThe government of Canada has released its widely anticipated immigration plan for 2017, and the news looks good for individuals looking to immigrate to Canada through one of the economic or family sponsorship programs.
Key highlights:
Target number of newcomers through Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class, and Canadian Experience Class increases by 23 percent.
Government aims for 51,000 new immigrants to come through the Provincial Nominee Programs.
Quebec aims to welcome more than 29,000 through economic programs, including the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.
Economic immigration to make up a larger share of overall immigration than in 2016.
More spouses, partners, children, parents and grandparents to arrive through Family Class sponsorship programs.
Although the plan targets an increase in economic immigrants and sponsored persons, the target figures for the Refugees and Protected Persons immigration categories are down compared to the 2016 plan. However, the overall target for these programs, set at 40,000, remains far higher than at any time during the previous Conservative government’s tenure.
Overall, Canada may welcome as many as 320,000 new immigrants over the calendar year of 2017. The increased scope presented by the government — the plan for 2016 allowed for up to 305,000 newcomers — is likely reflective of a desire to increase immigration over the coming years in order to respond to labour shortages and demographic challenges. Earlier this year, Immigration Minister John McCallum said that “there’s a significant feeling that Canada does need more immigrants, partly because we have an aging population, and so we need more young blood to keep our economies going.”
Before announcing the plan on October 31, 2016, Minister John McCallum met with stakeholders across the country. In a statement, he said that “the 2017 levels plan will put Canada in a strong position for the future and support our overall economic and social development as a country.”
Immigration Category
2017 Target
2016 Target
Percentage Difference, 2016 to 2017
Economic Total
172,500
160,600
+7.41%
Family Total
84,000
80,000
+5%
Refugee and Humanitarian
43,500
59,400
-26.77%
Target range
280k–320k
280k–305k
+4.92% (higher range)
Target
300,000
300,000
No change
