Canadian Immigration Levels Drop Again for the Fifth Consecutive Month in 2021

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"New data released by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed that new immigrant landings in Canada declined for the fifth consecutive month after a strong start at the beginning of the year."

Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on: Jul 30, 2021

New data released by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed that new immigrant landings in Canada declined for the fifth consecutive month after a strong start at the beginning of the year.

The number of immigrants that arrived in Canada between January 2021-May 2021 are as follows:

January- 24,680
February- 23,395
March- 22,425
April- 21,155
May- 17,100

Why Were Canada’s Immigration Levels Affected?

Canada has set the target of inviting an estimated 401,000 new immigrants in 2021. In the first five months of 2021, Canada has managed to invite just over 108,000 new immigrants. This is a slow pace if Canada intends to meet the set target. This is the most ambitious Canadian Immigration Levels Plan as Canada tries to recover from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, Canada had a target of inviting 341,000 new immigrants. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic that began in mid-March 2020, Canada only managed to invite 184,000 new immigrants. Pre-pandemic, Canada had a consistent immigration system to invite 25,000-35,000 new immigrants every month. However, that changed drastically in April 2021 when the monthly arrivals remained mostly below 20,000.

How Can Canada Recover in the Second Half of 2021 for Its Immigration Target?

Given that several travel restrictions have been eased up or expired, Canada can expect to recover its immigration levels in the second half of 2021. All applicants with a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) can finally travel to Canada after the restrictions were lifted on June 21st. The IRCC estimated that there are about 23,000 COPR holders who will be able to immigrate to Canada. In addition, those with approved COPRs abroad will finally be able to travel to Canada.

In 2021, the IRCC focused largely on completing the immigration process for applicants who were already residing in Canada. Therefore, the IRCC has been focusing on conducting regular Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws to invite the maximum number of applicants who are already residing in Canada. The IRCC has also introduced 6 new immigration pathways for foreign workers and international graduates:

We’ll be able to see the effect of the lifting of travel restrictions as immigration levels start recovering in July. The high level of applicants who received their ITA (Invitation to Apply for permanent residency) in the first five months of 2021 would be predominantly reflected in the landing figures for the second half of this year.