It would be a gross understatement to say that the world is left at an uncertain stage by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
When it comes to the future of Canada immigration, more than just the pandemic itself, there are a plethora of internal and external elements to consider.
There is no doubt that, in large part, the immigration of the country will be formed by its politics, demographics, economy, and the system’s processing capacity as well as the ability of the system of include newcomers. On the external front, the level of immigration will continue to be impacted by global cues as well.
This has, without a question, put the entire immigration of Canada in a precarious situation that the nation has never seen.
Internal Factors that Affect Canada Immigration
Canada is now looking at immigration to face the economic challenges in the post-coronavirus world. Marco Mendicino, the Immigration Minister of Canada, has said When Mendicino met with various provincial ministers of immigration, he discussed a range of topics imperative to the future of Canada immigration such as immigration levels till 2023 and how important international students are, among many others. As per the recent survey for Canadian Studies, most of the Canadians, especially the newer generations, look at immigration positively. More than 61% of the participants of the survey that immigration will help the country’s economic recovery.
There has not been any change in the demographic factors that drive Canada’s immigrant needs. Canada has a low birth rate with an aging population. It is calculated that, by 2030, more than 9 million baby boomers will attain retirement age in Canada. Considering the current birth rate of the country, which is 1.6 babies per couple, the country still needs 2.1 babies per couple to maintain its current population. It is also expected that the birth rate of the country might dip even further due to the economic uncertainties of posed by Covid-19. The Conference Board of Canada says that, by 2034, immigrants will account for Canada’s population growth 100% as well as a fair share of economic growth of the country.
It is underlined that immigrants do extremely well in ushering in new job opportunities as well as faring well in the job market. According to a new report by Statistics Canada, companies run by immigrants are more likely to innovate existing methods or systems and make new products. It is also observed that immigrants that come through Provincial Nominee Program and Federal Canadian Experience Class tend to find better success that immigrants from other immigration streams.
In addition, there are many immigrants who come under the Federal Skilled Worker Program finding excellent earning than Canadian workers after a meagre five years of coming to Canada.
International Factors that Affect Canada Immigration
It is not just the internal factors that affect Canada migration. When determining the immigrations levels, the country takes into consideration the affinities of the people that want to Canada. Further, the country also makes adjustments to their program as per global political circumstances such as the civil war in Syria. When that happened, the country make room for more Syrian refugees in 2015-16 lowering the target for economic-class immigration.
The pandemic has certainly hit the country hard in 2020. The country saw its immigration recovering when around 19,000 new permanent residents were allowed in June to the country. Even then, this is way lower than the 34,000+ admitted in June 2019.
According to a new survey by World Education Services, the immigration to Canada has seen a surge in people’s interest to migrate to Canada as it is widely believed that Canada may not be hit severely by the ongoing pandemic.
This Fall May See More Certainty about the Future
There is no doubt that global economic challenges can be both a bane and boon. While it can increase the demand for Canada migration among certain categories, there are chances that it might dampen the demand in other sections.
The fee fir immigration processing in Canada did go up in April when certain global currencies saw their value going down. When the oil prices fell, this was seen in Nigeria, which contributes a large number of immigrants to Canada. The case may be similar in other countries that depend on oil as their major source of income. It means that there will be less money in the people who want to come to Canada.
As long as the pandemic continues to rage, the economic and health statuses of the world will be under threat. So will remain the future of Canada immigration in 2020 and beyond even for those looking for Canada study options.
However, Canada has been on the road to recovery. As more than 55% of the jobs lost due to the pandemic has been filled by June. That’s great news for immigration consultants as well. In addition, there remains a positive approach by people wanting to come to Canada and it will continue to hold ground when the country gets better. When the 2021-2023 Immigration Level Plan of the country will be announced by November 2020, all of these factors will be considered.
