Canada needs more people, said the country’s Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, announcing a plan to increase immigration targets. Canada hopes to allow a record number of immigrants to enter the country to alleviate the labor shortage.
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“Canadians understand the need to continue to grow our population if we are to meet labor force needs,” said Sean Fraser.
The Immigration Minister said Canada hopes to double the number of immigrants from 2014 levels to 4,31,000. The country has also revised its future targets and aims to attract 4,65,000 immigrants in 2024, 4, 85,000 immigrants in 2024 and 5,00,000 by 2025. This would mean that there will be a massive increase in immigrants settling in Canada.
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Canada also aims for more than 60% of immigrants to be in the economic migrant category by 2025, the minister informed.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed the plan. In a LinkedIn post, Justin Trudeau wrote, “This plan outlines how we will increase our goals in the years to come, and it cements our place as one of the world’s top talent destinations.”
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“Immigration helps create economic growth, helps businesses find the workers they need and helps us meet labor needs,” he added.
Faced with a labor shortage and almost a million job vacancies, Canada has increased its shortage of immigrants. Canada’s birth rate continues to be one of the lowest in the world at 1.4 children per woman despite the country having one of the oldest populations in the world. Nearly nine million people, nearly a quarter of Canada’s population, will reach retirement age by 2030.
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