Canada to admit 5,00,000 immigrants each year; Indians to benefit most

IANS

Toronto, November 2

Though Canada will admit 4,85,000 new immigrants in 2024 as in 2023, it plans to raise the numbers to 500,000 by 2025.

Unveiling immigration plans for 2024-26, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said on Wednesday that immigration levels would be capped at 5,00,000 from 2026.

As India is Canada's biggest source of immigration and students, Indians will be the biggest beneficiary of these levels because they are going to get the lion's share of 2,81,135 newcomers under the economic category and 1,14,000 under the family category.

Last year, over 1,18,000 Indians took up Canadian permanent residency (PR), accounting for a quarter of all 4,37,120 newcomers to Canada.

The new immigration targets will push up Canada's population each year by 1.3 per cent.

In fact, record immigration levels have helped the Canadian population cross the 40-million mark even as the country faces an acute housing shortage.

The Justin Trudeau-led government is sticking to high immigration levels despite opinion polls showing opposition to the plan because of the housing crunch.

“Canada will continue to welcome newcomers and ensure that they are supported in their new lives," Miller added.

He however, admitted that immigration levels were being capped at 5,00,000 because “we recognise that housing, infrastructure planning, and sustainable population growth need to be properly taken into account".

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