Canada’s 2010 Immigration Highest in 50 Years

Canada’s legal immigration stood at a 50 year high last year, according to the country’s federal immigration minister.

Jason Kenney said almost 281,000 legal immigrants came to Canada last year, and the number was higher than the government’s own plan of allowing between 240,000-265,000 new immigrants for the year.

About two thirds of the immigrants were from the skilled economic migration category and their dependants.

At the same time, Kenney says that those allowed under the Provincial Nominee Program has also gone up, from just over 8000 people in 2005 to more than 36,000 this year.

The rest include those who came to Canada under the family class and refugees.

The government says that Canada took in the highest number of immigrants last year is a sign not only of its commitment to keep immigration steady at a time when other traditional immigration countries such as Australia are cutting back, but also of the fact that immigrants are needed to boost the country’s economic activity.

Backlog Reduced

The government also says that the increased intake, as well as new rules regarding who can apply to immigrate to Canada has helped to cut down the backlog from 640,000 in 2008 to just under 400,000 at present.

Key to the strategy was the move away from a system where anyone who can get past the minimum points needed can apply to a system where only those from the professions that the government deems as needed in Canada can apply.

The government plans to bring in another 240,000-265,000 legal immigrants this year too (see Previous Article “Canada to Keep High Immigration Level for 2011“).

Enhanced by Zemanta

Call for Canada to Bring in More Indian Students

India can expect more attention from Canadian universities and even the government’s officials responsible for immigration.

This, after an expert study called for dedicated effort to woo Indian students, not just as a source of foreign exchange, but also as an investment in cementing firm political, economic and cultural relationships with an emerging powerhouse.

In his study, titled ‘A New Direction for the Canada-India Relatiionship, Professor Ryan Touhey castigates the current status of Canada’s efforts to attract Indian students.

And Touhey has hard numbers to back up his complaint: Of the more than 150,000 Indian students going abroad every year for studies, less than three percent – about 4,000 – come to study at the various universities and colleges in Canada. Compare this to the 80,000 that go to the USA and 40,000 to Australia every year. Even New Zealand, which has much weaker links to India than Canada, with its more than half a million Indians spread throughout the country, gets more than 6,000 students every year.

Economic & Political Advantages

For one thing, attracting foreign students is good for the economy, as they pay much more than what locals pay for their studies.

A case in point is Australia.

Since the nineties, Australia has invested heavily in attracting Indian students with a number of annual events throughout the country. The foreign students sector itself is said to be the third largest foreign exchange earner, with annual earnings of about 12 billion dollars. And the estimated 100,000 Indian students are the second largest group next to Chinese.

The importance Australians pay for their foreign student component was very evident during the racially motivated attacks on Indian students in May of this year. Conversations were held at the highest level between officials of both countries, and recently even the Australian deputy prime minister was in India to reassure that Indian students are welcome.

But it is not just economy that benefits from having Indian students, says Prof. Touhey.

It is also about building future relationships.

India, along with China, is emerging as an economic powerhouse and nations are hurrying to build relationships with current leaders of those nations. But today’s students are future leaders and once they return to their home countries and rise up in life, they will fondly remember all things Canadian, and this will help Canada politically, says the study.

80,000 Foreign Students Come to Canada Annually

About 80,000 foreign students come to Canada every year and recently the government announced it was keen on increasing this number. At present, Canada offers a host of incentives for foreign students and these include allowing them to work here after studying and an easier path to permanent residency in the country.

Add to Technorati Favorites