By Adiba Hasan

In this monthly update, the ICC Immigration Dashboard indicates a drop in PR admissions in 2024 by 16% compared to the same period in 2023. By March 2023, PR admissions had reached 31% of the immigration target levels, with 145,495 new PRs. By comparison, in March 2024 PR admissions hit 25% of the annual immigration target, with 121,610 new PRs.

In 2023, PR admissions declined gradually in the early months of the New Year, with 50,945 admitted in January, 49,670 in February (-1,275), and 44880 in March (-4,790). PR admissions have experienced a more a dramatic decline over the same period in 2024, with 47,745 admitted in January, 39,090 in February (-8,655), and 34,785 in March (-4,305).

PR Admissions by Province

The chart below reflects the impact of the decline in PR admissions across provinces. Overall, most provinces experienced a decrease in PR admissions in 2024 compared to 2023 between January and March. However, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic provinces experienced a slight uptick in PR admissions, with New Brunswick seeing a 35% increase in the PRs admitted compared to the same period in 2023.

The ICC immigration dashboard shows that Manitoba (-36%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-31%), British Columbia (-28%), and Saskatchewan (-24%) saw the sharpest decline in PR admissions. It is worth noting that these provinces are also facing challenges retaining immigrants.

Province Snapshot: New Brunswick

According to a Statistics Canada report, immigrant retention over 5 years has increased in New Brunswick in recent years. With the Canadian government’s commitment to strengthening francophone communities, New Brunswick has been a focal point in establishing initiatives to bolster francophones outside of Quebec as it is Canada’s only officially bilingual province.

In 2023, New Brunswick experienced record population growth with the province admitting “33,000 arrivals from other countries between July 2021 and July 2023”. The province is also experiencing significant economic growth, ending the fiscal year on March 31, 2023 with a budget surplus of $1.01 billion, which some attribute to the arrival of newcomers. As such, the city of Moncton, which houses 21% of the province’s population, has implemented an Urban Growth Strategy that serves as a directive for managing housing and employment plans for the city over the next 25 years.

According to the ICC Immigration Dashboard, New Brunswick welcomed 44,495 new permanent residents since 2018. The diagram below indicates the streams through which immigrants have been admitted, with the Provincial Nominee Program admitting the most PRs in 2022 and 2023.

What do you think?

• Given that Ontario attracts the most number of immigrants, how does adjusting immigration levels on a federal level impact provinces that have a demand for immigrants?
• What else can provinces outside of Ontario do to retain immigrants?

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