As we bid adieu to 2021, many of us set New Year’s resolutions – promises that we make to ourselves that we will do things better in the coming year. These declarations of optimism make us confident that the New Year will, indeed, be brighter.
Let’s turn the tables for a moment and try to understand the New Year’s resolutions of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC or Immigration Canada). What did IRCC promise to deliver in 2022?
A couple of months ago, in October 2021, Immigration Canada released its 2021-2022 Departmental Plan and immigration plans for the next couple of years. Similarly, Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI) published its 2022 Immigration Plan.
IRCC recognizes that immigration plays a pivotal role when it comes to our economy. It further promises us to nurture a diverse and inclusive society. In its Departmental Plan for 2022, Immigration Canada pledged:
- To double the efforts to promote immigration of French-speaking foreign nationals to the provinces outside of Quebec;
- To give additional Express Entry points to French speaking applicants;
- To encourage regional immigration through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and the Municipal Nominee Program;
- To address labour market needs through the Agri-Food and Caregiver Pilots;
- To launch new collaborations with LGBTQ2 and Indigenous youth communities under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program;
- To make Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) more available to refugee claimants;
- To continue implementing online application portals and digital platform tools, and
- To launch dynamic e-application for all student programs.
Immigration Canada also published its immigration targets for 2022. These targets do not, however, include temporary residence programs (foreign workers, international students or visitors). It is also interesting that the targets for 2022 do not substantially differ when compared to the targets for 2021:
In 2022, IRCC plans to approve 3,000 more Express Entry permanent resident (PR) applications, 1,500 additional PNP PR applications, and 500 additional applications that fall under the humanitarian & compassionate category. For more detailed overview of the targets for each immigration category, please consult the table below:
All these goals and targets are specific, measurable, optimistic, and encouraging, just like New Year’s resolutions. While some suggest that approximately 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail, IRCC and MIFI did give us something to look forward to in 2022.