By Adiba Hasan

The ICC Immigration Dashboard indicates that IRCC is well on its way to reaching its goal for the year having admitted 80% of its target for new Permanent Residents (PR) for 2023.

According to IRCC data, 37% of the PR admissions were people who transitioned from holding temporary residency in Canada to becoming permanent residents. However, new research commissioned by the ICC shows that immigration levels only show part of the story; immigrants are leaving Canada in growing numbers.

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Diving into the Trends:

The ICC Immigration Dashboard shows a pattern of PR admissions experiencing a dip every August. For reference, the ICC Immigration Dashboard shows the following dips between June to September every year since 2018:

Each year, between July and August, there’s an average decrease of 13%. However, September typically witnesses an uptick in PR admissions. In 2023, we observed a different pattern than in the previous years. There is a steady decrease from 42,405 permanent residents admitted in June, followed by a slight dip to 40,630 in July, a more substantial drop to 34,920 in August, following a further dip to 32,065 in September.

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Challenges and Departures:

While the government diligently focuses on achieving its immigration targets, new research by the ICC and the Conference Board of Canada shows that immigrants are leaving Canada at alarming rates, with spikes in the most recent years for which data are available. The report, The Leaky Bucket, shows that onward migration has been creeping up since the 1980s. The findings suggest that immigration levels and associated concerns with impacts on infrastructure and public services cannot be viewed in isolation — the number of immigrants coming to Canada must be contextualized with the number of immigrants choosing to leave.

Read the full report here: Immigrants leaving Canada in growing numbers

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Source Countries and Naturalization:

The top four source countries for new Canadian citizens between January to September 2023 were India, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Pakistan. New Canadian citizens from Iran and China show month-to-month fluctuations.

Notably, India and China, which do not permit dual citizenship, exhibit the most significant disparities between permanent residents and choosing to naturalize.

While naturalization is decreasing among all major source countries, research conducted by Andrew Griffith and published by the ICC shows that restrictions on dual nationality has a “limited impact on overall naturalization rates“. One significant insight from the research is that permanent residents are taking much longer to naturalize. Combined with the recent findings that growing numbers of immigrants are leaving Canada, serious questions are being raised about immigrants’ satisfaction with life in Canada.

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Maintaining Canada’s reputation as a welcoming society is crucial, but it is equally vital to recognize that Canada has not been paying close enough attention to the experiences of immigrants once they arrive. As ICC CEO Daniel Bernhard aptly puts it, “If we are able to attract but not retain talent from the rest of the world, then all of our prosperity is threatened.”

• What are the consequences for Canada if immigrants no longer commit to building their futures here?
• How can Canada proactively work to retain immigrants and continue to attract the diverse talent it needs to thrive in a globalized world?

We invite you, our readers, to share your valuable insights, experiences, and perspectives on these pressing matters. Your engagement is vital as we work to shape Canada’s immigration policies and ensure an inclusive and welcoming future for all.

Stay informed through the immigration dashboard for the latest numbers on PR admissions and new citizens.

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