Canada will welcome 300,000 new immigrants in 2017, the same number as this year. The 2016 target was up from the previous years’ average to accommodate an influx of 33,000 Syrian refugees.
A council of economic advisers had urged the government to boost the number of immigrants even more to ensure better economic growth. Canada had a high number of births following World War II, and this so-called baby boom generation will soon retire, dramatically reducing the work force. New research suggests increasing immigration numbers will not do much to solve this demographic problem.
Target could increase in future
Immigration Minister John McCallum indicated he had lobbied other cabinet ministers to increase the immigration target even more, but opinion polls found little support for it. However, McCallum said the 2017 target could be increased in the future.
The figure for 2017 includes an increase in the number of economic immigrants to be resettled from 160,600 in 2016 to 172,500. In 2016, Canada admitted 55,800 refugees including those from Syria. In 2017, the number of asylum seekers admitted will be 40,000.
See details of Canada’s 2017 immigration policy.
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