On November 1, 2022, the Government of Canada announced its 2023–2025 Immigration Levels Plan, setting the target to welcome around 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025.

The announcement signals a significant increase from the 405,000 immigrants that came to Canada last year to the 465,000 expected to arrive next year and 485,000 in 2024. It will further rise to 500,000 new immigrants in 2025.

Canadian industries are facing a significant labour shortage. The plan embraces immigration as a strategy to help businesses find workers and to attract the skills required in key sectors—including health care, skilled trades, manufacturing, and technology—to manage the social and economic challenges Canada will face in the decades ahead.

Highlights of the levels plan include

• a long-term focus on economic growth, with just over 60% of admissions in the economic class by 2025
• using new features in the Express Entry system to welcome newcomers with the required skills and qualifications in sectors facing acute labour shortages, such as health care, manufacturing, building trades, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
• increases in regional programs to address targeted local labour market needs, through the Provincial Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
• reuniting more families faster
• ensuring that at least 4.4% of new permanent residents outside Quebec are Francophone
• support for global crises by providing a safe haven to those facing persecution, including by expanding the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot

A copy of this announcement can be found here: An Immigration Plan to Grow the Economy  - Canada.ca.