Before Canada felt the negative impact of COVID-19, high levels of foreign workers and international students were entering the country. Days before the global pandemic, the immigration minister announced new strategies to welcome more than one million permanent residents for the 2020-2022 immigration plan. But the global Covid-19 pandemic interrupted everything.
Despite the disruption, the immigration department has continually been processing immigration applications to the best of their ability. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided recent data with an in-depth look at where new immigrants came from in the first months of 2020. As of April, Canada had welcomed 74,000 new immigrants into the country.
India Tops the List
Over the years, India has remained the leading source of permanent residents to Canada. In the first four months of 2020, Indians account for over 24 percent of all new visa holders in Canada. Many Indian foreigners are eligible for Canadian visas as they speak English fluently. Again, they possess critical features such as being holders of university and college credentials and excellent work experience.
Most Indian immigrants also come from the United States as they face the challenge of acquiring U.S. visas, especially the H1-B visa. Other countries that top the list include China, Philippines, USA, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, France, Iran, and Brazil. China has brought more immigrants in 2020 compared to recent years. In the 74,000 new immigrants in 2020, China comes second and accounts for nearly 10 percent, compared to 9 percent in 2019.
Filipinos rank third on the list and have remained consistent over the years with 2020 recording 7 percent of the total immigrant entering the country, a slight decrease from 8 percent in 2019. The U.S. and Nigerian immigrants maintained their fourth and fifth position respectively in the list as it was in 2019. The top five source immigrant countries have the benefit of their English fluency speaking skills. Like Indian immigrants, they also have an excellent educational background and work experience.
