Canada plans to admit more than a quarter of a million new permanent residents in 2009

In tabling the 2008 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, the federal government has committed to admitting between 240,000 and 265,000 permanent residents in 2009, which are on par with last year and are among the highest for Canada over the past 15 years.

The 2009 plan includes up to 156,600 immigrants in the Economic Class; 71,000 in the Family Class; and 37,400 in the Refugees and other categories.

Under the Economic Class, Canada intends to take in 72,000 Federal Skilled Workers, 29,100 Quebec-selected Skilled Workers, 12,000 Federal/Quebec Business Immigrants, 10,000 Live-in Caregivers, 26,000 Provincial/Territorial Nominees, and 7,500 temporary workers and foreign students with Canadian degrees and Canadian work experience through the recently introduced Canadian Experience Class.

Under the Family Class, government intends to take in up to 52,000 spouses, partners and dependent children, and 19,000 parents and grandparents.

Under the Refugees Class and other categories, Canada intends to take in 7,500 Government-assisted Refugees, 4,500 Privately Sponsored Refugees, 9,000 Protected Persons in Canada, 6,200 Dependents Abroad, 200 Permit Holders, and 10,000 individuals and families based on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations, or for public policy reasons.

The 2009 levels plan sets the upper range of admissions under the Economic Class (1.6 per cent) higher than in 2008 in order to reflect growth in several economic streams, such as Federal Skilled Workers, Quebec-selected Skilled Workers and Provincial/Territorial Nominees. However, the distribution of admissions across categories in the Economic Class has changed to reflect the changing mix of economic immigration. For example, the 2009 levels plan committs nearly 3 per cent increase in Federal Skilled Worker category and 18 per cent in Provincial/Territorial Nominees in comparison of 37 per cent decrease in Canadian Experience Class and 7.5 per cent in Federal/Quebec Business Immigrants.

The 2009 levels plan, combined with $109 million funding from Budget 2008-09, will help the Department boost overall capacity to process more applications, enabling it to meet annual target levels, reduce the current backlog, and manage the inventory today and into the future. As a result, it will help reduce wait times, better respond to evolving labour market needs and support the Government of Canada’s immigration objectives.

In addition to providing a summary of Canada’s immigration levels plan for 2009, this report presents an overview of the current context of Canada’s immigration program, a review of some of the key challenges facing the Department and the initiatives it has developed in response. It further focuses on CIC’s partnerships with the provinces and territories; summarizes activities and initiatives regarding the selection of permanent and temporary residents; provides key statistics relating to permanent and temporary residents admitted in 2007; outlines Canada’s commitment to its humanitarian traditions and to the protection of refugees and others in need of protection and resettlement, including a statistical overview of the refugees and protected persons admitted in 2007; addresses settlement and resettlement programs and special initiatives to facilitate the economic and social integration of newcomers; and discusses activities related to Canadian citizenship.