Even beyond the hopes of the Century Initiative, a non-profit group that wants to see Canada's population more than double to 100 million by the year 2100, immigration to the country is surging this year.

According to the most recent figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in the first seven months of this year, the nation welcomed 274,980 new permanent residents.

This puts Canada on course to welcome 471,394 new permanent residents in 2022, which would be 16.1% more than the record-breaking 406,025 new permanent residents who came to Canada in 2018.

According to Ottawa's Immigration Levels Plan for 2022–2024, this year, 431,645 permanent residents will be accepted, followed by 447,055 in 2023, and 451,000 in 2024.

With the present rate of immigration, Canada is certain to surpass not just its goals for this year and the next, but also the proposed goal for 2024, which would be exceeded by 4.5%.

According to the Century Initiative, Canada's population expansion is essential to the nation's economic development and success.

"Increasing the population to 100 million by the year 2100 would ease the strain on tax revenues used to pay for services like healthcare and retirement security. The Canadian economy would also benefit from more innovative and dynamistic workers, according to the organization's website.

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For A Bigger, Bolder Canada: Long-Term Thinking, its 2019 report. Starting now, the Century Initiative recommended dramatically boosting immigration to levels that were thought to be so high that the group made a point of stressing that its proposal was not "extreme."

By 2026, the Century Initiative wants Canada to have 500,000 new residents.

Those targets proposed by the Century Initiative in 2019 were 400,000 new permanent residents in 2022, 420,000 new permanent residents in 2023, another 450,000 in 2024 and 475,000 in 2025. 

From that point forward, the organization desired immigration levels to be set at 1.25 percent of the Canadian population, an increase from the immigration rate of around one percent that existed at the time.

Based on a predicted 40 million Canadian population at the time, that would have meant setting an immigration goal of 500,000 new permanent residents for 2026.

With the number of new permanent residents expected to exceed 1.23 percent of Canada's population this year, which Statistics Canada estimates to be just over 38.2 million as of Canada Day last year, the country has already almost hit that rate of immigration.

These levels of immigration are "neither radical nor unachievable," according to the Century Initiative, but they must be accompanied by greater investment in settlement services and more effective systems that place immigrants in fields and regions where they are most needed and have the best chance of succeeding.

The Century Initiative report states that a significant influx of highly educated professionals, skilled tradespeople, general labourers, and individuals with entrepreneurial experience and energy is required for any solution to our declining workforce numbers and ageing demographics.

To support the foundations of an ageing workforce pyramid, we need younger immigrants. We also need to encourage international students to come to Canada so they may contribute to the vibrancy of our educational institutions and stay so they can use their skills and talents for Canada's future.

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Immigration increased by 135% in the first seven months of this year.

In Canada, where the COVID-19 epidemic was at its worst in 2020, there were only 184,590 new permanent residents for the entire year.

Comparing the first seven months of this year to the same period in 2020, immigration increased by 158,050 new permanent residents or 135.2 percent.

The nation's record-high immigration rate resulted in 90,305 more new permanent residents during the first seven months of this year than during the same period last year, or over 48.9% more.

Immigration is increasing compared to 2019, the previous full year before the COVID-19 outbreak, despite the fact that there are still a lot of instances of the virus in Canada with new strains.

Canada welcomed 78,130 more new permanent residents in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period in 2019, an increase of over 39.7% (or 196,850).

The message of the Century Initiative appears to be being taken seriously in Ottawa.

Sean Fraser, the minister of immigration, is allegedly working on two additional immigration routes that should help it grow even more.

One is said to make it simpler for international students to get permanent residency in Canada.

The other, which IRCC personnel acknowledged was in the works, will enable unauthorized immigrants to get permanent residence.

Undocumented immigrants will soon have a new route to permanent residence.

The IRCC is collaborating with industry stakeholders and academic experts on this pathway, which could open doors for Canada's estimated 500,000 unauthorized immigrants, including the Canadian Council for Refugees and Migrant Rights Network. The IRCC is building on the knowledge it has gained through the introduction of cutting-edge programs that have effectively helped people in Canada with temporary status or no status make the move to permanent residency as Canada works to establish that new pathway.

Particularly noteworthy, according to IRCC spokesperson Michelle Carbert, are initiatives like "Guardian Angels," "Out-of-Status Construction Workers Pilot," and "Pathway to Permanent Residence for Temporary Workers and International Graduates."

At the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, between December 2020 and August 2021, the Guardian Angels special channel was swiftly established for refugee claimants who were already offering direct patient care in the healthcare industry.

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Any removal order that they were referred under was suspended until a final judgment was made on their application once we determined that applicants were qualified and had the necessary work experience for this program, also known as Guardian Angels, said Carbert.

Another route to permanent residency is the transitory public policy for out-of-status construction workers in Toronto.

It began in 2020 and was subsequently extended until January 2 of the following year, or until 500 applicants and their families were approved for permanent residence, whichever came first.

According to Carbert, that route acknowledges the employees' contributions to the economy and seeks to lessen their vulnerability as a result of their undocumented status.

Last year, the TR to PR Pathway Accepted Up to 90,000 Applicants.

She said: "The government is collaborating with the Canadian Labour Congress, which leads candidates to IRCC who have a good chance of meeting the eligibility standards of the public policy. While their application for permanent residency is being processed and approved, "eligible applicants may apply for a temporary resident visa and an open work permit to remain and continue working in Canada."

The Temporary Resident-to-Permanent Resident (TR-to-PR) track, which was open to 90,000 temporary employees and foreign graduates already in Canada, was also introduced by the IRCC last year.

As of last year, almost 169,000 foreign nationals who had been living in Canada on work permits were granted permanent status, accounting for around 41.6% of all new permanent immigrants to Canada in 2021.

As we recover from the epidemic, the IRCC will keep looking for new ways to assist more foreign people already residing in Canada in establishing Canada as their permanent home, according to Carbert.

The IRCC estimates that 30,238 asylum seekers entered Canada illegally through these border crossings in the first half of this year alone, with 24,811 of those claims still pending.

At these borders, an estimated 79,052 such asylum seekers entered the country last year; 64,254 of those applications are currently waiting.

You can also read the latest Canada Immigration News and Draw Updates here.

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