Liberal immigration plan seeks to bring more than 300K newcomers this year
Posted March 8, 2016 7:43 am.
Last Updated March 8, 2016 11:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Up to 305,000 new permanent residents could be admitted to Canada this year under the Liberal government’s 2016 immigration plan.
Immigration Minister John McCallum says it’s the highest number of projected admissions in decades.
McCallum says economic immigrants will continue to make up the majority of newcomers, but the overall numbers for those will be down, duw to emphasis on reuniting families.
“In 2016, we are planning for 75,000 to 82,000 admissions in the family class, which consists of spouses, partners and children… parents and grandparents.”
But he says the government is committed to reducing the backlog of immigration cases currently on the books, despite the increased numbers.
“Our plan will improve processing times and backlogs will go down in our different immigration categories, including those for spouses, partners and children, and parents and grandparents.”
Each November, the government is required to table a document laying out how many new permanent residents it intends to accept in the coming year.
The plan for 2016 was delayed by the October federal election.
