{"id":15386,"date":"2023-02-12T06:21:44","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T11:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=15386"},"modified":"2023-07-24T20:25:12","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T00:25:12","slug":"what-is-the-total-number-immigrating-to-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=15386","title":{"rendered":"What is the total number immigrating to Canada?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Niagara Independent, February 10, 2023 \u2013<\/em> The number of people coming to Canadian soil is increasing each year. The federal government has been less than forthright on what is the total number. To come to a better understanding of \u201cthat number\u201d and the implications for the country, let\u2019s unpack some recent government media reports and news articles relating to Canada\u2019s immigration.<\/p>\n

In November, the federal government announced that over the next three years it plans to bring in 1.45 million immigrants to Canada: 465,000 people in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025. This intake schedule is part of a government plan to have immigrants make up 30 per cent of Canada\u2019s population by 2036. These are the official figures provided; however, the actual number is much greater than that tally.<\/p>\n

It was recently revealed by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that the total number of new permanent residents that came to Canada in 2022 was in excess of 437,000. This is a record number of new people being welcomed into the country, surpassing the department\u2019s stated target for the year, and topping the previous annual high of 405,000 in 2021. The last time the country took in this number of immigrants relative to its population was in 1913, when the government was encouraging agrarian settlement on the prairies.<\/p>\n

Statistics Canada reports that from 2016-2021, Canada brought in 1.3 million immigrants. IRCC recorded 405,000 immigrants in 2021, 437,000 in 2022, and projects another 1.45 million over the next three years. These numbers are the official numbers the government cites, and most Canadians are led to believe that this is the total number of new Canadians who came\/will come to the country. But, again, the actual number is much greater than this 3.6 million figure.<\/p>\n

A recent CIBC report claims that in 2022 the estimated total number of new people who entered Canada was no less than 955,000 \u2013 double \u201cthe official\u201d government number offered by IRCC. The financial institution used IRCC and Statistics Canada figures as well as in-house data to estimate that the permanent \u2013 and non-permanent residency \u2013 number is north of 700,000. Then add approximately 145,000 Ukrainians, more than 20,000 Afghans, and over 92,700 asylum seekers from Quebec\u2019s Roxham Road and through other gates of entry. The grand total is 955,000 for 2022.<\/p>\n

The CIBC report forecasts \u201cthe number of new international arrivals in 2023 could reach a million.\u201d Citing pressures this will place on housing and urban centres, it concludes the massive influx of new people will be \u201clike a wrecking ball on the Canadian economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an op-ed piece about the CIBC report written for the Epoch Times<\/i>, news commentator Bill Tuffs makes this observation, \u201cSelective information-sharing is skewing the reality\u2014that is, the federal government has broken these arrivals into several categories to reduce the visible impact of the total migration into the country and help avoid blowback when the real costs become apparent.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been a few other recent news reports that offer a clearer picture of the government\u2019s management of immigration. For one, the IRCC department just reported that in 2022 the government processed approximately 5.2 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship (which is double the amount processed in 2021).<\/p>\n

With this news, IRCC Minister Sean Fraser stated he is strengthening the country\u2019s immigration system by hiring 1,200 new government employees who will be processing 1.2 million \u201cnewcomers\u201d in 2023.<\/p>\n

A Globe and Mail<\/i> investigative report recently revealed, in order to clear an application backlog, IRCC chose to waive certain eligibility requirements for roughly 450,000 visitor visas. Visitors were not assessed whether they had sufficient funds for their stay, or whether they were \u201cgenuine visitors\u201d who would not claim asylum or require refugee resources.<\/p>\n

This week Canadians learned there was an unprecedented number of more than 39,000 asylum seekers who entered the country via Roxham Road (up from a previous high of 16,000 in 2019.) Quebec officials have stated the number is closer to 60,000. Depending on whose numbers one goes by, this rural road sees an estimated 100 to 165 migrants cross over into Canada illegally every day.<\/p>\n

Canadians also learned of the migration pipeline that is flowing from New York City. NY Mayor Eric Adams commented in a U.S. media interview that the city provides free bus tickets to migrants as well as counsel on how they can claim asylum in Canada. The city has had tens of thousands of migrants arriving via JFK airport or on busses from the southern States. One way it is coping has been the establishment of a \u201creticketing process\u201d that puts migrants on busses to Plattsburgh, NY and then in taxis for the additional 30-minute ride to the Canada-U.S. border.<\/p>\n

The Quebec government this week needed to increase its funding to community groups supporting the asylum claimants. It announced $3.5 million in emergency short term funding for community groups to provide shelter, food and clothing to the recent surge of newcomers.<\/p>\n

The cost of the Roxham Road activity is untold. There have been only glimpses of the millions of dollars spent: from the RCMP buildings, to health care and social service support, to everything in between. For example, the Globe and Mail<\/i> uncovered that in a 12-month period more than $94 million was spent by the federal government on hotels across Montreal area, in Ottawa and Niagara Falls. There is also the scandal involving Liberal Party donor Pierre Guay, who pocketed $28 million in leases and costs associated with the asylum seekers.<\/p>\n

The full cost of the government\u2019s current immigration plan is incalculable for Canadians. The increasing influx of new people puts immense pressures on social services, housing, and health care. They put a greater strain on the housing supply and rental markets. They add to the more than 3.2 million Canadians who are currently on healthcare waiting lists. In cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, where 90 per cent of newcomers live, they are draining the social services resources.<\/p>\n

In a thoughtful National Post<\/i> op-ed entitled \u201cLiberals bring in influx of immigrants without a plan to support them\u201d, Sabrina Maddeaux comments, \u201cImmigration isn\u2019t inherently good for a country, or even for immigrants, in and of itself. Positive outcomes for all parties require careful planning and a sense of realism. Unfortunately, it appears the Liberals have neither\u2026 the Liberals are exacerbating resource scarcity and intensifying competition for fundamental goods and services. Historically, this never ends well. Eventually, people look for someone to blame for their declining quality of life, and that group tends to be newcomers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddeaux concludes, \u201cTo be clear, such scarcity isn\u2019t the fault of immigrants. It\u2019s the fault of governments that either failed or didn\u2019t bother to properly plan to support their targets. Yet that will be of little consolation if Canadians\u2019 historically welcoming nature begins to take a turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

A recent Leger opinion poll found that one in two Canadians (49 per cent) believe the government\u2019s immigration plans were too grand, and three in four (75 per cent) think 1.4 million immigrants in the next three years will place far too great a demand on housing and social services. (As an aside, just imagine if these surveyed Canadians realized the actual total number of newcomers.)<\/p>\n

It is time to be transparent about \u201cthat number,\u201d and begin an honest discussion about what it means for our country \u2014 for the sake of all concerned.<\/p>\n

Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

LINK: https:\/\/niagaraindependent.ca\/what-is-the-total-number-immigrating-to-canada\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Niagara Independent, February 10, 2023 \u2013 The number of people coming to Canadian soil is increasing each year. The federal government has been less than forthright on what is the total number. To come to a better understanding of \u201cthat number\u201d and the implications for the country, let\u2019s unpack some recent government media reports…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[76],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15386"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15388,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15386\/revisions\/15388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}