Drop in New Permanent Residents Alarms Canadian Immigration Experts

In February, Canadian immigration saw a significant decrease of 18.4% compared to the previous month, contributing to an overall 13.8% drop in new permanent resident numbers for the year so far. Despite a surge in January, the trend in early 2024 points to reduced immigration. January welcomed 47,735 new permanent residents, slightly less than the same period in 2023. February recorded 39,975 new permanent residents, a notable decline from the previous year.

This resulted in a total of 86,710 new permanent residents in the first two months of 2024, down by 13,905 from the same period in 2023. This decline exceeds the population of Portage La Prairie in Manitoba. If the current trend continues, Canada is projected to welcome approximately 520,260 new permanent residents in 2024, representing a 10.3% increase over 2023's record-setting level. This surpasses the target of 485,000 new permanent residents set in Ottawa's Immigration Levels Plan for 2023–2025 by 7.3%. Ontario remained the top destination for newcomers, attracting 37,545 new permanent residents in January and February, accounting for 43.3% of all immigrants to Canada during that period. Economic programs like the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), Agri-Food Immigration Pilot (AFIP), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) played a significant role in facilitating immigration to Ontario. Family sponsorships and Canada’s refugee and protected persons programs also contributed to immigration to Ontario, with 9,220 and 6,440 new permanent residents arriving through these pathways, respectively. Alberta and British Columbia welcomed the highest numbers of new permanent residents after Ontario. Temporary immigration to Canada is expected to come under a new immigration levels plan in September, as announced by Immigration Minister Marc Miller.