Immigration levels will be maintained says Canadian immigration plan

November 03 2009 by Liam Clifford

Canada plans to continue it's immigration policy as it is and maintain the number of Canadian visas being granted.

Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney revealed the department’s immigration report for 2010 in parliament on Friday. The report explained that the country plans to continue to accept the same number of immigrants despite the global downturn in the economy.

Minister Kenney explained that Canadian work visa holders were needed to enable the country to grow in the future. He said, “while other countries have cut back immigration levels as a short-term response to the global economic downturn, our government is actually maintaining its immigration levels to meet the country’s medium- to long-term economic needs.”

Kenney continued to explain that economic migrants who move to Canada to work in skilled professions will be the focus of the immigration plans for next year. He added, “Canada plans to welcome between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents in 2010, the same number of immigrants as in recent years. In 2010, Canada will again welcome more new permanent residents than the average annual intake during the 1990s."

The report outlined plans to extend the admission ranges for immigrants who are nominated to move to Canada under the Provincial Nominee Programme. Kenney says the immigration department will continue to work to reduce the backlog of Canadian visa applications through the Action Plan for Faster Immigration.

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