Immigration to Canada in 2024: What's new and what's changing

In 2024, Canada is introducing significant changes to its immigration policy, marked by an ambitious and rigorous strategy. Immigration plan for 2024-2026 aims to welcome a growing number of permanent residents, with targets of 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 for the years 2025 and 2026. This initiative, focused on economic growth, family reunification and responding to humanitarian crises, also underlines the commitment to multiculturalism and linguistic diversity. In addition, the integration of artificial intelligence into the immigration process promises more efficient and rapid management of applications, despite concerns about its fairness and transparency. Canada also continues to prioritize sectors such as health, STEM and skilled trades, as well as support for international students, illustrating a targeted and adaptive approach to evolving labour market needs.

Immigration levels plan: an increase of 20 %

Canada's immigration levels plan for 2024-2026, announced on November 1, 2023, reveals the implementation of a rigorous but ambitious strategy. With admission targets of 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, 500,000 in 2025 and 500,000 in 2026, the plan emphasizes economic growth, family reunification and responding to humanitarian crises. The plan also demonstrates Canada's determination to effectively manage the rapid increase in immigration applications.

Priorities by immigration category

Within the economic framework, the plan focuses on highly skilled workers, business people and various economic pilot programs. The latter include live-in caregivers, the agri-food pilot program and immigration to rural and northern communities. Visit provincial candidate program remains a key element, with important objectives to meet specific regional needs.

The "family" category recognizes the importance of family support for the well-being and social adaptation of immigrants. It aims to facilitate the integration of spouses and partners into the job market, while valuing the role of parents and grandparents in family support.

Humanitarian commitment and support for new arrivals

Canada remains committed to humanitarian protection, welcoming protected persons and refugees, including government-assisted and privately-sponsored refugees. The plan recognizes the need for a coordinated and integrated approach to welcoming newcomers, ensuring that the necessary supports are in place, including housing and health care.

The plan sets specific targets for French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec, with progressive targets of 6 % in 2024, 7 % in 2025 and 8 % in 2026. This initiative underlines Canada's commitment to multiculturalism and linguistic diversity.

Table: Canada's Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026

AI, a tool to streamline Canada's immigration process

The adoption of artificial intelligence by IRCC marks a revolutionary step in the modernization of the immigration process. AI offers a faster, more efficient way to process applications, reducing delays and improving the applicant experience.

The use of AI extends to various aspects of the immigration process, including the assessment of work permit and permanent residence applications. This technology helps to identify the most promising candidates and optimize decision-making.

IRCC plans to expand the application of AI in the coming years, promising an even more profound transformation of the immigration system.

Immigration officers use AI to identify inconsistencies and anomalies in applications, increasing their ability to detect attempts to exploit the system. However, this approach does not replace human judgment, which remains decisive in final decisions.

The use of AI raises concerns. Critics point to the potential biases and lack of transparency associated with AI algorithms. Challenges include:

1. Bias and fairness If the data used to train AI contains biases, this can lead to unfair decisions, targeting or neglecting certain nationalities or demographic groups.
2. Transparency and accountability : The complexity of AI algorithms, especially those based on deep learning, makes it difficult to understand and challenge automated decisions.

Express Entry: revised category draws

The Express Entry system, designed for qualified applicants seeking permanent residence, has been updated to better meet Canada's economic needs. A major development was the introduction of category draws in 2023. These draws focus on specific groups, including francophones and professionals in priority fields such as STEM, healthcare, skilled trades, transportation and agri-food. This approach targeted allows us to select immigrants whose skills match the requirements of the Canadian job market. By 2024 Express Entry print categories will be reassessed to ensure that they remain aligned with the evolving needs of the labor market. This ongoing reassessment ensures that the system remains dynamic and adaptive.

The following categories have been defined to meet the needs of the Canadian labour market and the objectives of linguistic diversity:

• Health Prioritizing healthcare professionals.
• STEM Focus on candidates with skills in these high-demand areas.
• Specialized trades Targeting manual professions.
• Transport Selection of candidates with experience in this sector.
• Agriculture and agri-food Interesting for those with experience in these fields.
• French language skills : Encouraging francophone immigration outside Quebec.

The PCP: multi-year plans for the provinces

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is evolving with the introduction of multi-year plans. This initiative enables provinces to plan for their long-term labour requirements, and to select candidates suited to those requirements.

Multi-year plans offer a more coherent and strategic vision for attracting the talent needed in each province. This helps balance local needs with national immigration targets, while ensuring a fair distribution of skills across the country.

The PGP: a target of 32,000 candidates

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) remains an essential pillar of Canada's family immigration policy. With a target of 32,000 applicants by 2024, the program underscores the importance of family reunification.

PGP enables citizens to and permanent residents to sponsor their relatives. and grandparents. This policy strengthens family ties and supports the social integration of immigrants.

The increase in the number of PGP applicants demonstrates the government's commitment to facilitating family life and promoting social cohesion within the immigrant community.

The program for international students: more accessible

Canada recognizes the importance of international students in its educational and economic ecosystem. In 2024, significant improvements were made to the international student program, making it more accessible and advantageous.

The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) system has been simplified to facilitate the study permit application process. In addition, the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWP) has been revised to offer international graduates more opportunities to work in Canada.

L'Immigration Canada in 2024 marks a period of significant transformation and progress in the country's immigration policy. With increased admission quotas, a focus on linguistic diversity and economic growth, and the integration of artificial intelligence for more efficient management, Canada is demonstrating a thoughtful and innovative approach. These changes not only reflect the current needs of the Canadian job market, but also demonstrate the country's commitment to multiculturalism and humanitarian response.