The Canadian Immigration Landscape in 2021

When 2020 came to a close, many feared that the impact of COVID-19 would have directly affected the amount of immigration to Canada — they couldn’t have been more wrong.

2020 actually broke records with the addition of 1.2 million Canadian PR residents into the country, all with the hope that the influx of newcomers will fuel an economic recovery post-pandemic.

So let’s dive into the good news:

What To Expect Under Express Entry

As mentioned above, 2020 was record-breaking — with the last 3 draws seeing record numbers of invitations received.

Recently, 5000 new applicants were invited by the government to apply for their Canadian PR, raising the total number of new applicants to 102,350 — all within one year.

Moving forward, the rise of Express Entry applicants and acceptances will only continue to soar into 2021.

What To Expect as an International Student in Canada

Surprisingly (or maybe not), before the pandemic, the number of students taking online courses was double that of in-person learning — but 2020 brought that number up to a whopping 1.6 billion.

So what does this mean for students in 2021 looking to apply for a Canada PR?

Luckily, it’s all good news, with the Canadian government hard at work striving to adapt their current Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) program to include international students who are studying from a distance and are not able to meet the criteria for a PGWP. Previously, attending too many online courses, missing a term or studying part-time would disqualify you, which is why this new Canada PR system has been designed to accommodate the pandemic better.

The Modernization of Immigration Systems in Canada

The current system is legacy, and having to rely on a paper-based Global Case Management System is causing more headaches than benefits.

This is why Canada has pledged $750 million to digitize the entire immigration system.

These changes will make submitting documents significantly easier while also increasing the processing times for new applications.

Overall, 2021 is shaping up to be an incredible year for immigration to Canada, and with this new revamped Canada PR process, the number of applicants will grow rapidly.

What To Expect From the Job Market in Canada

2020 has seen an explosion of remote working and various other alternatives to the traditional workweek.

Video-Conferencing has gone up. Online collaboration is up. Businesses’ are digitizing by the minute.

However, due to the pandemic, many have also lost their jobs — mainly due to their sector being directly affected by the lockdowns.

But 2021 is shaping to change all of that, with two-thirds of Canadian employers stating they will be hiring back previously laid-off employees.

Here are the top projected jobs for 2021:

Customer Service Representative
Driver
Registered Nurse
General Labourer
Electrical Engineer
Software Developer
Accountant
HR Manager
Financial Advisor
Tech-Related Sector

Things are shaping up well for Canada, leading into the second half of the year. With immigration to Canada on the rise, bouncing back post-pandemic is a viable possibility, and the country's growth is looking positive.

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