The coronavirus pandemic had a devastating impact on Canada’s immigrant intake in April.
In a typical month, some 25,000-35,000 new permanent resident (PR) visa holders will complete their landing in Canada.
However, only 4,100 new PRs could complete this process in April due to the major disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In new information released today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data shows the country’s PR intake fell by 78 per cent compared with March 2020.
The March 2020 intake fell by 26 per cent compared with February.
Coronavirus-related disruptions have included IRCC employees working remotely, thereby limiting Canada’s PR processing capacity, travel restrictions limiting some PR visa holders from coming to Canada, reduced flights by airlines around the world, among other challenges.
Canada’s April 2020 PR intake may have been the lowest since the 1940s when global immigration was reduced due to the Second World War.
Despite the pandemic, IRCC has not indicated that it plans to change its 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan.
The plan states that IRCC will aim to welcome over 340,000 immigrants annually in the coming years.
Recently, immigration minister Marco Mendicino has made several remarks that immigration will continue to be key to Canada’s economic success and post-coronavirus recovery.
As such, it appears likely that Canada will also seek to accommodate the arrival of more permanent residents in the coming months. Canada will provide more details before its travel restrictions expire on July 1.
