Canada exceeded its goal of awarding permanent residency to 401,000 foreigners in 2021, according to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
Canada, which relies on immigration to fuel its economy and support an ageing population, saw a 45 percent drop in new permanent residents to 185,000 in 2020, when COVID-19 largely shut down its borders.
According to a statement from the immigration minister, the majority of the new 401,000 permanent residents – the highest number in more than a century – were previously in Canada on temporary status.
“Last year, we set an ambitious goal. Today, we achieved it,” Fraser said.
Since assuming office in 2015, Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has emphasised immigration as a means of bolstering the Canadian economy, with an annual target of about 1% of the country’s population of more over 38 million people.
In the following year, the government aims to welcome 411,000 new permanent residents, according to the administration.
The Canadian economy grew for the sixth month in a row in November, approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to official data released earlier on Thursday.
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