By Adiba Hasan

In May 2023 the Institute for Canadian Citizenship commemorated the one-year anniversary of our transformative relaunch of the Canoo Access Pass (Canoo). As a charity dedicated to unlocking Canada for newcomers and working to facilitate the journey from arrival to citizenship and belonging, Canoo has proved to be an extraordinary initiative, supporting hundreds of thousands of newcomers to explore and engage with the country.

Since its inception, Canoo has unlocked Canada for almost 500,000 newcomers, providing free admission to museums, galleries, festivals, concerts, and other experiences across the country. In this quarterly Canoo Insights Report, we are delighted to share some highlights and accomplishments from the past year.

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Canoo Member Check-ins: A Major Uptick During Holiday Periods

A ‘Check-in’ refers to the moment that a Canoo member visits a venue, attends an event, or participates in an activity offered through Canoo. Over the past year, Canoo members along with their children checked-in more than 213,000 times to different venues and events offered through Canoo. At least half of Canoo members bring children. As shown below, Canoo members check-in the most when major holidays take place — typically during periods when families spend time together. For example, Canoo members and their children checked-in 32,172 times during the Victoria Day long weekend in May 2023, making it the highest check-in period on record!

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Testimonials

At the heart of Canoo’s success lies the unwavering support of our members, whose feedback has been invaluable in shaping and expanding this initiative. Without our members’ active participation, the Canoo program, along with the enriching partnerships it has forged across Canada, simply would not thrive. Check out one of our Canoo members’ experiences of Canoo that showcases the value of Canoo in fostering a sense of belonging and exploration in Canada (click here).

Other Canoo Members’ Experiences:

Canoo to us is like a lens through which we can explore Canada, we get to know all the beautiful, scenic, historical & cultural places in one place and in the most economical manner. ~Amandeep Kaur Bhatia

It [Canoo] helped me want to discover more places, and experience more after I moved as I was financially tight and that stopped me from exploring the culture, nature and more, of Canada. Canoo helped me fall in love with my new home. ~Thanzeem Kassim Rawther

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By Adiba Hasan

This decline could be caused by backlogs in processing applications, however, data acquired from IRCC also show that 2023 saw a notable decline in the number of citizens admitted since 2022.

Top 3 Source Countries in April 2023

The ICC’s Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard shows that India is the top source country for both new citizens and permanent resident admission, amounting to 3,130 new Canadian citizens and 9,275 permanent residents of Indian origin in April 2023. The Philippines (1,315) and Nigeria (644) follow after India for new citizens admitted, and China (1,770) and the Philippines (1,415) follow after India for permanent residents admitted. Although the following data represents a snapshot for April, a notable trendline can be observed in the Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard, indicating a decline in the number of admitted citizens and permanent residents (PRs) compared to the earlier months in 2023.

As Canada navigates the nuances of immigration targets, it is vital to reflect on public policy challenges and opportunities. How can Canada address concerns related to housing and strained healthcare systems while continuing to attract and retain skilled immigrants? What measures can be taken to ensure the long-term satisfaction and integration of recent permanent residents? Share your thoughts and perspectives on these questions and join the conversation on Canada’s immigration policies.

Take a look at our immigration dashboard for updated numbers of PRs and citizens.

You can learn more about the ICC here. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive Canada.

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By Adiba Hasan

Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, recently introduced category-based selection within its Express Entry program for permanent residence. This new approach aims to “issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents with specific skills, training or language ability“. The objective is to meet labour needs in vital sectors such as healthcare, STEM, trades, transportation, agriculture, and agri-food. Additionally, the selection process intends to foster the growth of the francophone community by prioritizing immigrants who are proficient in French.

Canada aims to admit 465,000 permanent residents in 2023. The most recent data that is available on our Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard shows that IRCC has already achieved 30% of the PR number target for the year.

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Invitation to Apply (ITAs)

In the past few months, IRCC attracted headlines for issuing a record-setting number of invitations to apply (ITAs) via Express Entry for permanent residence. The latest round of ITAs were sent on May 24th. The breakdown of monthly ITA draws from the Express Entry pool since the start of 2023 are below:

Month (2023)	ITA Number
January	11,000
February	4,892
March	21,000
April	7,000
May	5,389

While IRCC made headlines for issuing a significant number of ITAs in January and March, numbers for the rest of the year remain unclear.

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Permanent Residence numbers in 2023

The ICC’s Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard tracks citizenship and permanent resident numbers since 2018. In 2023 so far, Canada admitted 145,215 permanent residents, with January accounting for the highest number of admissions at 50,885. Subsequent months have seen a moderate decrease in the number of admissions.

In March, the majority of permanent residents admitted came through the Economic-Federal category, amounting to 17,000 admissions. Economic-PNP dropped from 13,145 in February to 9,525 in March. The Family category also saw a drop, where permanent residents number dropped from 11,055 in February to 9,890 in March. The Other and Refugees categories displayed a steady increase in admitting permanent residents through these streams.

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Permanent Resident Admissions by Province: March Data

Provincially, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan experienced growth in the number of permanent resident admissions, while Nova Scotia experienced a decline.

Snapshot: Quebec

Quebec, with its unique immigration system, plays a significant role in Canada’s immigration landscape. The newly announced category-based selection for Express Entry emphasizes attracting immigrants with French proficiency. This approach aligns with Quebec’s objective of safeguarding the declining population of French speakers in the region.

In 2023, Quebec plans to welcome a total of 52,500 permanent residents, with 16,040 individuals already admitted thus far. Notably, the Economic stream accounts for 65% of the overall target, and out of the 16,040 admissions, 9,790 permanent residents have been admitted through this stream.

As we explore the data, it is evident that substantial progress has been made towards the goal of admitting 465,000 permanent residents by the end of 2023. The recent announcement of category-based selection within the Express Entry program with a focus on attracting French-speaking immigrants reflects the government’s efforts to address labour shortages and bolster the francophone community.

However, some are questioning whether prioritizing French-speaking immigrants through the new selection process aligns with the evolving linguistic landscape of Canada. Data from Statistics Canada indicate that “English-French bilingualism has increased by more than 11 percentage points“.

Share your thoughts and perspective with us! Do you think the new category-based approach for Express Entry sufficiently addresses Canada’s diverse labour needs? What are the potential consequences of such an approach? How can we ensure that a category-based selection process remains fair and equitable?

Take a look at our immigration dashboard for updated numbers of PRs and citizens and add your voice to the conversation (our social media links are below).

You can learn more about the ICC here. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive Canada.

Interested in following us? Please sign up here for more updates from Ideas & Insights at ICC.

By Adiba Hasan

In an era of global mobility, the concept of citizenship has stood as a cornerstone of belonging and identity. In February 2023, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship released new StatCan data revealing a steep decline in the number of recent immigrants choosing to become citizens. We found that only 45.7% of eligible permanent residents naturalized within 10 years — a 40% decline for this cohort since 2001.

But how does Canada compare to other countries? As part of our ongoing efforts to explore what might be behind the decline, this article seeks to benchmark Canadian naturalization patterns with available data and information from other peer nations.

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Peer country comparisons

Data on immigration is critical for understanding the dynamics of naturalization, as is an understanding of the rules governing citizenship eligibility. Immigration data availability and eligibility criteria differ across jurisdictions. The following table provides a breakdown of key details related to citizenship across five peer countries, including Canada.

Country	Residency Time Required Prior to Citizenship	Legal Status Prior to Citizenship	Dual Nationality Allowed	Statistics Office	Immigration Office
Australia	4 Years	Permanent Resident	Yes	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Department of Home Affairs; Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Canada	3 of 5 Years	Permanent Resident	Yes	Statistics Canada	Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
France	5 Years	Permanent Residence	Yes	Ministry of Interior – Ministerial Statistical Office of Immigration	The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
United Kingdom	5 Years	Indefinite leave to remain/settlement	Yes	Office of National Statistics	Home Office
United States	5 Years	Lawful Permanent Resident/ Greencard Holder	Yes	Office of Immigration Statistics	Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

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While there are certain distinctions, the table reveals a number of similarities across jurisdictions, which makes them interesting from a comparative perspective. Here are some key highlights:

1. Overall, residency requirements for citizenship are similar across the five countries; Canada and Australia have slightly shorter residency requirements by comparison.
2. Permanent residency is a common prerequisite for citizenship across all countries.
3. All of the peer countries allow dual nationality.
4. Each country has designated statistical and immigration offices responsible for gathering and managing immigration-related data. The United States is the only country that does not have a dedicated Statistics office but rather the main government departments have branches that are responsible for immigration-related data.

Benchmarking challenges – data consistency and availability

During this analysis, we discovered that data on citizenship uptake is released at different intervals and through different statistics offices, depending on the country. In particular, it was not possible to find consistent cohort-based naturalization trends across the different countries (eg. comparative naturalization rates for permanent residents who arrived less than ten years ago). Accordingly, we had to take a longer view in order to compare naturalization rates, looking at overall naturalization rates for all immigrants.

Trends in the naturalization rate (OECD data)

Very few recent studies have looked at comparative naturalization rates. One organization in particular, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) consolidates and tracks naturalization data from all of its member countries, with the most recent data coming from 2017. These naturalization rates reflect the proportion (%) of immigrants who acquired citizenship within their respective “host country”. The following table shows comparative rates between 2006-7 and 2017.

In 2006-2007 Australia had a naturalization rate of 81.7%, while France and the United Kingdom had naturalization rates of 64.9% and 68.1%, respectively. The United States had a lower naturalization rate among the selected countries with only 62% of immigrants becoming citizens.

By 2017, Australia managed to maintain a relatively consistent naturalization rate (81.4%), and the rate in the United States also remained relatively stable, albeit lower compared to its peers (62.3%).

Naturalization is decreasing across OECD member countries and the EU

The 2017 data for the rest of the peer countries, including the overall rates for the OECD and the EU, show a notable decline in naturalization rates. France had a decrease of 5.3 percentage points with a rate of 59.6%, and the rate for the United Kingdom fell 10 percentage points to 58.1%. Naturalization across all OECD members decreased 4 percentage points from 66.8% in 2006-2007 to 62.8% in 2017, and across the EU it declined almost 10 percentage points from 67.8% to 58%. Generally speaking, the data show that naturalization rates have declined across the peer countries as a whole.

Naturalization in Canada was stable, but is now trending downward

OECD data show that Canada has maintained a stable and relatively high overall naturalization rate over the examined period. However, more recent data from Statistics Canada show a different story; Canada’s overall naturalization rate has declined significantly in recent years.

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	1991	1996	2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
All Immigrants	81.1	83.2	84.0	85.1	85.6	85.8	80.7
Adult Immigrants	81.6	83.7	84.5	85.7	86.3	86.2	81.7
Adult Immigrants arrived 5-9 years ago	68.6	75.4	75.1	73.0	67.5	60.4	45.7

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According to the 2021 census, only 80.7% of eligible permanent residents overall have chosen to become citizens. This high-level trend in Canada’s overall naturalization rate is all the more troubling given that the rate among recent immigrants has sunk to 45.7%.

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Annual figures: Citizenship acquisition (OECD data)

When it comes to the number of people acquiring citizenship (rather than the proportion of all immigrants), the United States consistently recorded the highest number of citizenship acquisitions between 2010 and 2020, with a peak of 843,593 in 2019.

Canadian citizenship acquisition numbers fluctuated throughout the period, with a peak of 259,274 in 2014. The United Kingdom also experienced fluctuations in its numbers, reaching a peak of 208,021 in 2013. (NOTE: You can track up-to-date monthly data on new Canadian citizens and permanent residents by visiting our Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard. Click here).

Australia and France had lower overall numbers compared to Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Australia experienced fluctuations throughout the period, while France saw a relatively stable number of acquisitions of nationality.

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Key takeaway: Naturalization rates are in decline in many places

Despite fluctuations in the number of people becoming citizens, this analysis reveals that overall naturalization rates are in decline in many places beyond Canada.

The Canadian government has launched some initiatives to promote the value and benefits of Canadian citizenship such as streamlining the citizenship application process and simplifying the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship applicants. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no clear government strategy aimed at pushing against declining naturalization rates in Canada.

Other countries are acting.

The United States, for example, has established the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization, an initiative that aims to address low naturalization rates by bringing together various government agencies to enhance outreach and education efforts to provide assistance to people who are eligible to become citizens.

Moving forward, it will be crucial for countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia to continue exploring innovative strategies to reverse the decline in naturalization rates and encourage eligible individuals to embrace citizenship.

You can learn more about the ICC here. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive Canada.

More than 1.7 million permanent residents and 1.1 million new citizens have been admitted to Canada since 2018. Last year, Canada admitted 431,645 permanent residents, making it the largest number of people admitted in a year in Canadian history.

Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan aims to admit an even more ambitious number of 465,000 permanent residents in 2023. Based on the most recently available data, the Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard shows that IRCC has already hit 20% of the PR number target for 2023.

For those following the news on immigration in Canada, there have been a lot of record-setting headlines related to permanent resident admissions. For example, IRCC issued a record-breaking 11,000 express entry invitations in January 2023, only to break this record again in March 2023, inviting 21,000 candidates to apply for PR. Here is a short report on what Permanent Resident admissions in 2023 is starting out like.

Permanent Residence 2018-2023

Based on the Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard, the PR levels were mostly impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic and seem to be getting back on the average increase by 2022. We are yet to see what the percentage increase or decrease looks like at the end of 2023.

Permanent Residence in 2023

January 2023 set a record number where 50,885 PRs were admitted in Canada, followed by 49,550 PRs in February. Most PRs admitted were through the Economic-PNP (28,450) and Economic-Federal (32,560) while the Family stream (line in pink) also saw a significant uptick, admitting 23,755 PRs.

Permanent Residence by Province

In January and February 2023, Ontario (40,860) and British Columbia (17,500) were the top 2 immigration destinations, while Alberta (11,785) and Quebec (11,085) levelled with each other.

Regionally, Newfoundland in Atlantic Canada admitted 1,590 PRs, Quebec and Ontario trended steady inflows of PRs (see Citizenship and Immigration Dashboard), following the Prairies, Alberta experienced an increase in admitting 11,785 PRs (50% increase from last year), and in the north, Yukon PR numbers jumped from admitting an average of 30 PRs monthly to having 105 PRs in January and 170 PRs in February (160% increase from January and February of 2022).

While IRCC is meeting the immigration targets, the success rate could experience a dip due to the PSAC strike, where more than 155,000 government employees are participating, and immigration services are expected to face extensive delays. IRCC has not indicated how the strike will affect PR processing time and we are yet to see how the PR levels will unfold in the coming months.

Do you think this halt in immigration services will create a similar backlog that Canada faced due to the pandemic? What changes need to be implemented to create an immigration system where immigrant applicants aren’t adversely affected every time there is a shock or a stop in the process? How might this be affecting prospective immigrants’ views of Canada?

Take a look at our immigration dashboard for updated numbers of PRs and citizens and add your voice to the conversation (our social media links are below).

You can learn more about the ICC here. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive Canada.

Interested in following us? Please sign up here for more updates from Ideas & Insights at ICC.
Be sure to keep a lookout for our next monthly ICC Immigration Dashboard analysis

According to Statistics Canada, over 7 million women living in Canada were born outside of the country, and in 2022, IRCC welcomed 242,884 female permanent residents, 52% of the total new permanent residents.

In our very own Canoo domain, women also make up 52% of the Canoo member base and in celebration of International Women’s Day, this Canoo Insights Report looks at the usage of Canoo by Canoo women members.

Main takeaways from this report:

• Since 2018, Canoo has served 94,950 women
• Since May 2022, women have saved $1,373,045

Recap: What is a Canoo Insights Report?

Canoo Insights Report is a quarterly series started by Ideas & Insights at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship that sheds light on our Canoo Access Pass program. Through these quarterly reports, we hope to:

1. Give readers a sense of the Canoo program
2. Reveal the impact of Canoo on its diverse members
3. Provide a glimpse into the moving parts of the Canoo program that make it the biggest welcome network in Canada

Here are some highlights about Canoo:

222,280 people have become Canoo members since Canoo transitioned from a paper pass into a mobile app in 2018. Since then, Canoo has served 94,950 women.

There are 65,690 currently active Canoo members participating in the program within their 12 months of access (a 25% increase from the previous Canoo Insight Report), and 33,226 of the currently active Canoo members are women.

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Gender Distribution of Active Canoo Members

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Visits by Canoo Women members

When a Canoo member visits a place or participates in an activity through the app, we refer to it as a “check-in“. Since May 2022, Canoo members have made 78,460 check-ins at places across the country. Women have made up slightly more than 50% of the check-ins.

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Top 5 Places Visited by Canoo Women Members

Through Canoo, women members have access to a variety of places across Canada. In every province and territory, women members can choose to visit museums, parks, events, and more. Here are some of the most popular places visited by Canoo women members in Canada.

Manitoba

Since May 2022, Canoo women members checked in 845 times to the top 5 places in Manitoba.

Value saved from visits to the top 5 places:

$ 9,940

Nova Scotia

Since May 2022, Canoo women members checked in 599 times to the top 5 places in Nova Scotia.

Value saved from visits to the top 5 places:

$ 5,944

Ontario

Since May 2022, Canoo women members checked in 14,066 times to the top 5 places in Ontario.

Value saved from visits to the top 5 places in ON:

$ 362,414

Quebec

Since May 2022, Canoo women members checked in 2,053 times to the top 5 places in Quebec.

Value saved from visits to the top 5 places:

$ 43,374

Saskatchewan

Since May 2022, Canoo women members checked in 107 times to the top 5 places in Saskatchewan.

Value saved from visits to the top 5 places:

$ 855

Did you find this report Interesting? If you want to read more, check out some of the earlier issues of Canoo Insights Report that highlight Canoo partners and members:

• Canoo Insights Report: Part 1
• Canoo Insights Report: Part 2

The latest immigration data (December 2022) has been released by IRCC and the complete 2022 data updates can be found on our immigration dashboard. Data are released by IRCC on a two-month lag. The visualizations below are based on a 2018 baseline.

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You can learn more about the ICC here. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive Canada.

Interested in following us? Please sign up here for more updates happening at the ICC and follow us to get upcoming content from Ideas & Insights at ICC.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, ON

The percentage of permanent residents obtaining Canadian citizenship has plummeted since 2001, according to new Statistics Canada data obtained by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

Despite Canada’s efforts to attract growing numbers of newcomers, the proportion of immigrants who seize the opportunity to become Canadian is in freefall.  Data collected during the 2021 Census reveal that just 45.7% of permanent residents became citizens within 10 years, down from 60% in 2016 and 75.1% in 2001. This represents a 40% decline in citizenship uptake over 20 years.

These numbers were shared by Statistics Canada with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship as part of ongoing research into declining citizenship rates.

“To go from 75% of newcomers obtaining citizenship to only 45% is simply shocking,” said Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

“It goes against everything we tend to think about Canada being a welcoming country. It raises all sorts of questions that will have no easy answers, but it is certainly a wakeup call. Canada’s future depends on newcomers becoming Canadian and contributing their energy and talents to our shared success. We should be extremely alarmed that newcomers are falling out of love with Canadian citizenship, which has, for decades, been highly desirable.”

“The declining citizenship rate has the potential to harm Canada’s long-term economic, social and democratic resilience.  Immigrants are not just workers, but future voters and civic leaders. What’s certain is that the future of Canadian democracy depends on this issue being addressed. The ICC is working hard to identify the causes behind this apparent crash in the market value of being Canadian and we encourage all committed Canadians to join us.” said George Carothers, Senior Director, Ideas and Insights at the ICC.

“We should want those who are contributing to Canada to stay here and become citizens,” he concluded.

Thanks to its Canoo Access Pass, the ICC is in touch with almost half a million recent immigrants. The ICC will be working with them over the coming months to better understand the root causes of this shocking decline.

Read more: Trends in the Citizenship Rate Among New Immigrants to Canada 1991 to 2016 (Statistics Canada, 2019)

About

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) works to unlock Canada for newcomers, facilitating and encouraging the journey towards full and active Canadian citizenship. The ICC is an independent charity, co-founded in 2006 by the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul.

Media Contact

Alex Nanoff
613.709.6318
media@inclusion.ca

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By Adiba Hasan

Immigration is vital to Canada’s economy, but also to its cultural dynamism. 90 percent of labour force growth is attributed to immigration, as is 75 percent of population growth. Canada has welcomed a record high of 431,645 new permanent residents in 2022, 16% higher than in 2021. But the federal government has indicated that it will increase immigration levels even further, admitting 1.45 million new immigrants between 2023-2025.

The ICC launched a dashboard in collaboration with Andrew Griffith, tracking the number of new citizens and permanent residents admitted to Canada. After facing public backlash on application backlogs, IRCC has managed to surface through and meet its target for the year. Here is the overall breakdown of permanent resident numbers in 2022:

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As seen from the dashboard, the number of permanent residents admitted between December 2021 – November 2022 is 22.7 percent higher than the previous year. The dashboard below shows how the admission varies from month to month in each immigration stream:

Despite all the negative media coverage about IRCC’s lack of resources and ability to manage the backlog, the number of new citizens eventually recovered. Between December 2021- November 2022, Canada gained 368,911 new citizens, a 214.5 percent increase from the 262,803 Canadian citizens approved in the previous year.

While the record number of permanent resident admissions and the significant number of new citizens in the last year is certainly noteworthy, the data raises important questions about the government’s goal of admitting 1.45 million immigrants by 2025. Given the variation in processing from one month to the next, will IRCC be able to reach this goal?  Considering the fact that 1.09 million applications are still in the backlog, does IRCC have the capacity, whether through technology or through human labour, to get through the accumulated applications while also taking on a larger volume in the future? Is the goal to bring processing times back to pre-pandemic levels, which were already quite slow, or is it to revamp the entire system with the use of AI, changing eligibility requirements to create a more streamlined process of admitting newcomers in Canada?  

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The Institute for Canadian Citizenship works to unlock Canada for newcomers through programs like Canoo and through original research initiatives and collaborations, such as the immigration dashboard. Each month, the ICC will be monitoring trends in new citizenship and permanent resident admissions and sharing our analysis with the public. Are you following the national conversation on immigration? Let us know what you think about the 2023-2025 Immigration plan or share your thoughts about the immigration dashboard.

You can learn more about the ICC here. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive Canada.

Interested in following us? Please sign up here for more updates happening at the ICC and follow us to get upcoming content from Ideas & Insights at ICC.