Canada added more $440 million for three-year immigration levels plan

Ahmed Hussen Canada’s Immigration Minister says the federal government’s multi-year immigration levels plan is on track and $440 million will be committed to ensure its success. Hussen provided an update Thursday on Canada’s 2018 immigration levels before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

Last November, Canada put aside one-year immigration levels planning in favour of a three-year plan covering 2018 to 2020. The plan calls for an ongoing increase in immigration levels over that time, from an overall admissions target of 310,000 in 2018 to 340,000 in 2020

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Sixty percent of this growth will come through Canada’s economic immigration programs, Hussen said, singling out the vital roles of the federal Express E system and PNP programs.
“The number of skilled immigrants we select through our Express Entry system will grow over this time frame, which will mean more highly skilled talent for our labour market,” he said.

Express Entry target admissions

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Hussen said the multi-year loom also allows the government and partner organizations to better prepare for increases to ensure they have the capacity to welcome and successfully integrate newcomers into Canadian society.
The increased admission targets under the multi-year levels plan are projected to cost $440 million over the next three years.
The minister said these additional resources will be used to address the increased demands placed on IRCC’s worldwide processing network and its settlement programs. The additional funding will also enable IRCC and its partners to process and screen more applications for permanent residency in a timely manner.
“We expect that higher immigration levels will allow us to improve the operations of our immigration system, help us to reduce our application backlogs and improve processing times for our clients,” he said, adding that the increased levels in certain categories will create more admission spaces and allow IRCC to process more applications each year.
“In particular, we expect to see real progress in reducing processing times in family, caregiver and refugee programs,” Hussen said. “Faster processing also ensures that employers can more effectively get the talent they need.”
The Immigration Minister said the government’s immigration objectives are supported by independent studies by organizations like the Conference Board of Canada, which late last year reported that Canada will need to increase immigration levels to around one percent of Canada’s population over the next two decades in order to sustain a healthy level of economic growth across the country

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Immigration already accounts for 65 percent of net population growth in Canada and immigrants now constitute 25 percent of Canada’s workforce, Hussen said.
This proves the importance of settlement programs after landing to guide these newcomers to the right direction to meet the job market qualifications in Canada

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