Immigration to Canada experiences significant decline: Toronto Star
Immigration to Canada dropped by 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 when compared to the same time in 2010. This sharp drop in immigration levels is raising suspicions that the government is planning on restricting levels of immigration to Canada according to this article in the Toronto Star.
Permanent resident visas dropped from 84,083 to 63,224 between January and March of this year when compared with last year. Refugees fell 25 per cent, family-sponsorships by 14 per cent and economic class workers by a total of 28 per cent, with skilled workers and live-in caregivers dropping 39 per cent year over year. Humanitarian cases dropped by 35 per cent.
Immigration to Canada should meet target of 250,000: Citizenship and Immigration Canada
However, it should also be noted that 2010 was a record year with very high immigration levels and it may not be fair as the two years cannot really be compared equally.
Immigration to Canada: “What is going on here?”
Speaking to the Toronto Star, Ryerson University professor Myer Siemiatycki said, “It’s a very sharp decline. It begs the question, what is going on here?”
Annually, Canada admits about 250,000 people through various channels of immigration to Canada.