2019 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration
Authours: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Location: National
Summary
The Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration provides the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship with the opportunity to inform Parliament and Canadians of key highlights and related information on immigration to Canada. While this report on immigration and its tabling in Parliament is a requirement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), it also serves to offer key information on the successes that have been achieved as they relate to welcoming newcomers to Canada.
This report sets out information and statistical details regarding temporary resident volumes and permanent resident admissions. It also provides the projected number of upcoming permanent resident admissions in future years, beginning in 2020. In addition, this report contextualizes the efforts undertaken with provinces and territories in our shared responsibility of immigration and ends with an analysis of gender and diversity considerations in Canada’s approach to immigration.
How does this research apply to my work?
Although this report does not provide information directly related to addressing the mental health of immigrants and refugees, as service providers it is important to be aware of the current and changing landscape of Canada as it relates to immigration. Canada’s approach to immigration can influence who may be more likely to need settlement, social and health assistance, what supports new permanent and temporary residents in Canada may benefit from, and how programs and services may be tailored to facilitate successful integration.
What should I take away from this research?
- A distinguishing feature of Canada’s immigration system is that it establishes immigration levels for each of these permanent immigration categories on an annual basis.
- In 2018, Canada welcomed the highest level of permanent residents in recent history, with just over 321,000 admissions. The economic immigration class remains the primary source of permanent resident newcomers to Canada. In that same year, Canada also became the number one resettlement country in the world, resettling over 28,000 refugees. Canada also facilitates the entry of temporary residents, comprised of visitors, foreign workers and students.
- With various pre- and post-arrival settlement services available for newcomers and their families through IRCC-funded programs and services, Canada has ensured that overall integration outcomes of newcomers, along with their children, are better than in most other member countries of the OECD.
- In 2018, over 510,000 clients accessed at least 1 settlement service. Overall, the Settlement Program has seen a 13.5% increase in unique clients since 2017. Of these clients, 56% were female while 44% were male. Furthermore, 81% of clients accessing services were 18 years of age and older. Information and orientation services had the highest number of unique clients in 2018 at 412,000, while the largest proportion of Settlement Program spending is on language training.
What’s the next step?
IRCC remains committed to the goals of inclusion and will continue to utilize gender-based analysis plus as a tool for evidence-based decision-making. Aligned with other federal departments and agencies, IRCC will work toward an even stronger analysis of intersectional data as it becomes available to increase the Department’s knowledge and understanding of applicants, newcomers and refugees, including—stakeholder views—and to use this data to improve policies and programs.
Read more here.
