By Pranay Chaudhry
New Canadian Media

The Canadian population is currently well north of 40 million, growing by over one million between the summer of 2022 and 2023, which has been significantly aided by a large number of immigration programs and pathways. Like with most initiatives that attempt to strengthen our rapidly changing socio-economic landscape, newfound solutions and implementations will always have their fair share of constructive criticism. However, sometimes it’s good to take a step back and realize that the multitude of immigration programs that currently exist sometimes go under-appreciated, although they allow families to re-unite and individuals are provided with more opportunities to experience Canadian culture and settle here permanently.

The most common economic immigration pathway available to new immigrants to obtain their Permanent Residency in Canada is through the Express Entry system, first started in January 2015. At the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Express Entry system issued more than 114,431 Invitations To Apply, to candidates seeking Permanent Residency in 2021. It was a surprising number considering the closed borders and limited travel. Those candidates came almost entirely from individuals already in the country who were working towards improving their chances of being Invited To Apply for Permanent Residency by gaining Canadian educational qualifications and obtaining Canadian work experience. It illustrated that while Canada is one of the most attractive destinations in the world for individuals who are still on the outside looking in, there is also significant interest from potential candidates who have experienced our culture and quality of life and wish to call Canada home permanently. It is not a surprise then, that we have seen record-breaking immigration numbers year-over-year, from a bit of a dip of 226,309 in 2020 when the Pandemic had just begun, to a sharp increase to 492,984 in 2021, and 437,180 in 2022, and with a goal of inviting up to 505,000 additional Permanent Residents in 2023.

To reach these numbers, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made some notable changes to the Express Entry system, by introducing targeted occupation-specific draws such as individuals in agriculture and agri-food – candidates working as agriculture service contractors, farm supervisors, retail and wholesale butchers, with a minimum CRS score of 354 as of the draw on September 28, 2023.

Additional recent draws have also focused on newcomers with transport experience such as commercial truck drivers, pilots, and aircraft assembly workers, with a recent September 20, 2023, draw minimum CRS score of 435 and the recent Federal Skilled Trades draw on August 3, 2023, with a minimum CRS score of 388.

The advantages to these occupation-specific draws are the greater ability to meet the eligibility requirements and the chances of receiving an Invitation To Apply, which are now higher for individuals in these in-demand occupations without them necessarily being compared to individuals who have professional degrees and work experience. The increase in professional candidates has affected the Canadian Experience Class pathway of the Express Entry system, contributing to recent all-program draws sharply increasing to CRS scores north of 500, a number significantly higher than the minimum CRS scores needed pre-COVID 19, where a general range of 438 to 475 was commonly accepted.

These new implementations to the system allow for pathways to be more tailor-made to suit the realistic circumstances that candidates in other occupations are in, as they are extremely valuable to our economy, our quality of life as a society, and most importantly, deserve to have their skills and qualifications highlighted in a way that will provide them with better opportunities to be able to permanently reside in Canada.

Outside of the Express Entry system, the different Sponsorship programs are another common pathway for candidates who wish to re-unite their families in Canada permanently. Earlier this year, IRCC implemented key public policies to aid Spousal Sponsorships, allowing the applicants the opportunity to apply for a work permit so they can work in Canada while their application is being processed. This policy was previously only available to candidates who were eligible for Inland applications. However, Canadian immigration has rightly responded to the criticism they received, as there are candidates who are mostly residing in Canada but need to travel in and out of Canada to attend to family matters at home, making them realistically only able to apply for the Outland pathway. These new public policies allow for these candidates to have the choice to pick the pathway that is more suitable to them without necessarily sacrificing their ability to work in Canada. In addition, these new Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit options for Spousal Sponsorships have also been given priority, as the application processing times are expedited.

Nevertheless, there is valid constructive criticism of Canadian immigration and its pathways, programs, and processing times. The criticism is an essential part of the process as well, as it allows IRCC to actively streamline and improve their pathways and programs by understanding the issues real newcomers are facing. However, with several different avenues to immigration already existing, sometimes a suitable program may already exist but has not been given as much of a spotlight.

Pranay Chaudhry is an immigration lawyer at JC Law Professional Corporation. He has a law degree from the University of London, UK, and he also holds a Masters in Law from SUNY University at Buffalo, New York, USA.

Population report highlights

• From July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023 (2022/2023), Canada’s population grew by 1,158,705 people (2.9%) to an estimated 40,097,761 on July 1, 2023. This represents a significant increase from the previous year (1.8% in 2021/2022) and the highest growth rate for any 12-month period since 1957 (3.3%) when Canada welcomed many refugees from the Hungarian revolution and when the post-war baby boom was at its high.
• Alberta saw the highest growth rate of all provinces and territories in 2022/2023 at 4.0%. Meanwhile, every single province from coast to coast experienced their fastest annual pace of growth since at least 2000/2001. All three territories also saw positive population growth.
• International migration accounted for 98% of Canada’s growth in 2022/2023. Those high levels are related to efforts by the Government of Canada to ease labour shortages in key sectors of the economy as well as a record-breaking year for the processing of immigration applications at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
• Population growth due to international migration in 2022/2023 (+1,131,181) was at its highest on record. It was significantly higher than the previous highest level seen just one year prior in 2021/2022 (+654,308).
• In 2022/2023, every province and territory across Canada saw the largest population gains from international migration on record for the period where comparable data exist (since 1971).
• In 2022/2023, 348,370 Canadians moved between provinces and territories, similar to the record levels seen a year prior (348,777). Alberta saw record net gains from migratory exchanges between provinces with 56,245 more people moving to the province than those leaving it. Not only is this the highest annual net gain for Alberta, but it is also the highest annual net gain ever recorded for any single province or territory since 1971/1972 (period for which comparable data exist).