Canada posts all-time record high number of immigrants during pandemic, but many of them are already here: expert

Immigration numbers from the last quarter of 2021 show an all-time record high that hasn’t been seen since they started keeping such records in 1946.

In total, 405,750 immigrants were reported in 2021 by Statistics Canada, with 138,182 in the fourth quarter.

While it might appear surprising that the number of immigrants to Canada rose during the pandemic, one expert explains that the country is doing what it can to meet targets, with the number reflecting many of those who were already here.

Usha George is the director of the Ryerson Centre for Immigration & Settlement. She says every year the Minister of Immigration has to present an annual target to Parliament and in 2020, they made a three-year plan to allow for more flexibility.

George explains the first year of the pandemic, only 180,000 people were admitted to the country, which is much lower than was expected. So in 2021 they opened up permanent residency for people who were already living in the country.

“They did a very serious outreach for people applying for permanent residency in Canada,” she tells Yahoo Canada News.

Known as the “Canadian experience class”, this demographic of immigrants are international students who come to Canada to study, get jobs and are waiting to apply for status.

Prior to the pandemic, 30 per cent of all economic class applicants were from within Canada, and 70 per cent were from outside of Canada. In 2021, those numbers were reversed, with the majority being the Canadian experience class.

George adds there were also a percentage of people in Canada on temporary work permits, who were admitted, as well essential workers who were invited to apply, though they represent a smaller percentage.

“In 2021, it was recognized that they have to depend on the Canadian experience class (to meet targets) so the department invited almost everyone who applied for the program,” says George.

The comprehensive ranking system, which is the points system that immigrants follow to qualify for the permanent resident program, considers things like age, education and language ability. In 2021, the government lowered those scores and invited everyone who was interested to apply for permanent residency. George says this is a major reason why they were able to meet their target.

She says if you look at the Canadian economic class in regards to permanent residents, especially what is called the federal skilled workers program, only 8,300 people landed in 2021. That’s a stark contrast to the year prior to the pandemic, in 2019, when there were just over 58,700.

Those high numbers of new immigrants also reflect a major backlog in administering the related paperwork. As of March 15, a total of 518,667 permanent residence applications and 801,069 temporary residence applications were in processing inventory. A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada says that as of the end of February 2022, the citizenship grant inventory is 453,265, which includes prospective, mailroom estimates and unopened e-applications.

As for the future, George says in the next few years there’s estimated to be 1.2 million newcomers to Canada, which is in line with the record numbers reported last year.