While US Closes Borders, Canada Welcomes Immigrants!

While the COVID-19 crisis continued to escalate globally, with US leading the way in shutting borders to immigrants, Canada continued the positive trend of inviting high potential immigrants.

Donald Trump’s promise on Twitter found fruition as on 23^rd April, 11:59 pm he signed an Executive Order to suspend the processing of permanent resident applications for those outside the US for 60 days. While this contains some exemptions, this is the first time Trump has actually followed through on his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Political pundits have been unified in their opinion that this is more of a political move keeping in mind the upcoming US presidential elections, than a preventive measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

For starters it is important to note that Canada’s per capita immigration intake is 3 times that of the US. With a population of 38 million, Canada still welcomes 3,40,000 immigrants every year, while the US with a population of around 330 million welcomes 1.1 million immigrants every year. The difference however is in the type of immigrants. Immigrants to the US are largely under the family class, nearly 70%, while for Canada 60% of the immigrants are under the economic class. It is this differentiation which is crucial for anyone seeking to live abroad.

Despite the special measures put in after the coronavirus crisis, Canada is still allowing exempt immigrants, international students, and temporary foreign workers. The country’s strong commitment to inviting and welcoming immigrants has been proven in these tough times.

Canada Continues to Invite Immigrants

On March 12, while Trump was contemplating shutting the US borders, Canada unveiled their 2020-2022 immigration plans, and they bode well!

Canada is set to welcome over a million new permanent residents in the next 3 years. As the maple leaf country continues to steadily increase their intake, they are giving the stakeholders enough time to process and come to terms with the new normal.

Canada welcomed 3,20,000 immigrants in 2018, 3,41,000 immigrants in 2019, and have the target of 3,41,000 in 2020 as well. This will be increased to 3,51,000 in 2021, and further increased to 3,61,000 in 2022. The latest plan unveiled by the Canadian Government makes room to increase the 2022 intake to 3,90,000.

Canada needs immigrants, despite the pandemic affecting the planet, they realize they are battling with a rapidly aging population. These plans put in place are keeping in mind the near future and are widely considered to be highly proactive in nature.

Unlike the US states, Canadian provinces have a lot more power over their own immigration laws. This plays a huge role in determining their overall immigration numbers.

Canada Welcomes the Economic Class

Canada has always made it a priority to balance the intake of immigrants. A large percentage of whom will be coming under the economic class. Nearly 58% of all immigrants are set to arrive in Canada through the Express Entry Programs, the Provincial Nominee Programs and Quebec’s programs. Moreover, other federal intake streams like the Atlantic Immigration Pilot too continue to feed this stream.

One thing is certain though, the economic class will continue to lead the way in terms of numbers for Canada’s immigration plans. Which is why they have planned a steady year-on-year increase of 10,000 immigrants.

Over and above that, the Canadian government is also planning on increasing the number of the PNP admission targets by up to 20% in 2022. Along with this, the Canadian government has identified certain sectors that are in dire need of skilled manpower. With this in mind it is aiming to invite 5,200 more immigrants under different pilot schemes like the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot and the Rural and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. Chances are bright that the numbers for these pilots may also double by 2022. The Canadian federal government is also waiting to consult with Quebec with regards to the major reforms they are undertaking for their immigration system.

Why Canada is Still Inviting Immigrants

Much like countries around the world, the economy of Canada is also set to contract in 2020. The question then arises, why is immigrant so crucial to Canada?

There is an argument to be made that increased immigration is not ideal since the newcomers will be coming to the country at a time when there would be fewer jobs to absorb them. This, however, would be a mistaken assumption.

Canada’s immigration policies have historically been highly proactive. Ever since the late 1980s, the choice of the Canadian government to invite immigrants has not been dependent upon the economic conditions on ground. The immigration policies that have been set out help fill the immediate vacancies and are also designed to strengthen the country’s economic standing. Even if the new immigrants are coming at a time when the economy is facing a downturn, the Canadian government believes that they will be the catalyst to spur a growth in the country’s economy in the future.

9 million of Canada’s population, known as the baby boomers, will reach retirement age by the end of this decade. With its already low birth rate, Canada relies on immigration to drive the growth of its labour force.

Canada – A Brighter Future

While the world reels under the catastrophic humanitarian and economical blowback of the coronavirus pandemic, immigration aspirants still have cause to cheer.

Canada’s robust economy has been planning in advance. While conventional wisdom may suggest that landing in Canada at such a time may result in a lot of difficulties, it has to be weighed against the difficulties being faced globally.

Canada’s free healthcare, high standards of education, and strong economy are not the only reasons for you to be looking to immigrate there. It is the one country that is looking at increasing inclusivity and planning for the future. As the aged population of the country retires from jobs, and new jobs continue to be created, a country the size of Canada, is always going to need highly skilled manpower.

It is the immigrants that hold the key to the future of the Canada. And the flipside is that Canada holds the key to the future of all of these immigrants. As manpower numbers decline, Canadian companies will start wooing talent with better packages and perks. With this information in mind, it is a perfect time to be applying for a Canadian PR. For anyone with foresight, and the desire to carve an international career, Canada is the place to be.