COVID-19’s Impact on our Immigration System

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s target for have many permanent residents it hoped to admit, in 2020 was 341,000 people. In the second quarter of 2020, however (April, May and June) only 34,000 people become permanent residents. Most of these people were already in Canada on study or work permits.

In 2019 there were 642,000 international students studying in Canada. In the second quarter of 2020, IRCC issued just over 10,000 New study permits, compared with 107,000 for the same period in 2019. Currently only those students who have study permits issued before Mid-June  or those entering from US, and whose presence in Canada is essential (for example, is there a mandatory in-class component to their studies)  are allowed to enter Canada. Everyone, including these students, has to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

The number of work permits issued in the second quarter of 2020 is about half as many as were issued in the second quarter of 2019 (All statistics taken from the Globe and Mail September 3, 2020, page A4).”