Immigration Minister Marc Miller has said that Canada will maintain immigration targets previously set for the next three years.
As per the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan tabled on Wednesday, targets are set at 485,000 permanent residents for 2024 and 500,000 each in 2025 and 2026.
With the federal government receiving flak for a lack of affordable housing, the minister maintained that permanent resident numbers will be stabilized in 2026 to allow for “successful integration”.
“Today’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2024-2026, sets out our targets for immigration over the next three years,” Miller said in a statement. “By stabilizing the number of newcomers, we recognize that housing, infrastructure planning, and sustainable population growth need to be properly taken into account.”
“Through this plan, we are striking the appropriate balance to grow Canada’s economy, while maintaining our humanitarian tradition, supporting Francophone immigration, and developing a more collaborative approach to levels planning with our partners. Canada will continue to welcome newcomers and ensure that they are supported in their new lives,” he added.
Highlights of the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan include a continued long-term focus on economic growth, with over 60% of permanent resident admissions dedicated to the economic class by 2025. New ambitious Francophone immigration targets (to support Francophone communities outside of Quebec) represent 6% of total immigration in 2024, 7% in 2025, and 8% in 2026. The plan also promises to uphold Canada’s humanitarian support effort by responding to humanitarian and geopolitical crises around the world.
The Levels Plan is a projection of how many permanent residents will be admitted to Canada in a given year and sets targets for overall admissions per immigration category. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Minister must table the Levels Plan in Parliament each year.
The Levels Plan identifies permanent resident targets in four categories: economic immigration, family reunification, refugees and protected persons, and the humanitarian and compassionate class.
The 2024 target of 485,000 new immigrants to Canada amounts to 1.2% of Canada’s current population.
