2010 was the high point of Canadian immigration

In 2010, Canada welcomed the highest number of permanent residents in 50 years, Jason Kenney, minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, announced on February 13.

'While other Western countries cut back on immigration during the recession, our government kept legal immigration levels high,' he said. 'Canada's post-recession economy demands a high level of economic immigration to keep our economy strong. In 2010, we welcomed the highest number of permanent residents in the past 50 years to support Canada's economic recovery, while taking action to maintain the integrity of Canada's immigration system with the introduction of the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act.'

Canada reportedly admitted 280,636 permanent residents in 2010--about six per cent more than the planned range of 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents for the year and about 60,000 higher than the average annual intake of permanent residents in the 1990s.

'Since 2006, our government has allowed for the provincial nominee program to expand significantly, from 8,047 people in 2005 to 36,419 in 2011,' Kenney added.

But he admitted that there was a backlog of 640,000 skilled immigrants who had been waiting for their permanent visa applications to be processed for more than six years. He had introduced new selection criteria to limit eligibility to 38 professions. Those who already had a job offer when they applied for permanent residence fared best, making an average $79,200 annually three years after arriving in Canada, he said.

'I'm very pleased that a higher number of admissions in 2010 means that more people are now out of the lineup and well on their way to beginning a new life in Canada,' he added. 

Besides this, Ottawa admitted 182,322 temporary workers into the country last year, and gave visas to a record number of 96,147 foreign students, projected to contribute as much as $6.5 billion to Canada's economy every year.

'Our government's initiatives such as the Student Partners Program have also helped to attract and admit a high number of foreign students, particularly from China and India,' Kenney said.

Image: Jason Kenney