Following two months of immigration growth, Canada saw its number of new permanent residents soften by 4.9% in June, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
A total of 34,870 new permanent residents came to Canada in March and 42,595 foreign nationals were granted permanent residency in April.
Permanent residents grew by another 46,835 in May before June saw monthly immigration dip slightly, with the total number of new permanent residents dropping to 44,540.
According to the IRCC data, the total number of new permanent residents in Canada could reach 511,410 by 2024, should the trend continue until the end of this year.
That would mean an 8.4% increase in new permanent residents than last year, which saw Canada bring in 471,815, a record-breaking year for the country’s immigration levels.
The projections would also indicate that Canada will receive 5.4% more than what the Trudeau government has said it would, exceeding its target of 485,000 under the Liberals’ 2024-26 Immigration Levels Plan.
The total number could even surpass the previous 500,000 targets for next year and 2026.
However, monthly immigration levels tend to fluctuate and the second half of 2024 may result in fewer new arrivals.
For example, the number of temporary new residents to arrive in Canada in the first half of this year was 2.9% lower compared to the same period last year, going from 263,420 in 2023 to 255,600 in 2024.
Provincially, Ontario has been the most popular destination for newcomers this year, with 106,500 of all new permanent residents choosing to reside there.
Already the province with the highest population, Ontario took in 41.6% of all immigrants from January to June of this year.
This is likely in part due to the province’s wide array of economic and social programs for newcomers, like the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway.
Government programs accounted for 52.7% of all new permanent residents going to Ontario in the first six months of 2024.
British Columbia saw the second most monthly immigration gains, with 34,535 new people, followed closely by Alberta with 34,375.
Quebec saw an additional 30,315 new permanent residents.
However, Canadians are becoming increasingly divided on the federal government’s current immigration targets, with over a third now saying we’re taking in “too many” people from other countries.
The Department of Immigration requested that the polling agency Ipsos conduct a national survey on its current immigration quotas.
“Many participants felt that the targets set for the next three years, which were presented to them, were too high,” reads the survey. “They could not fathom how cities, that are already receiving high volumes of immigrants and where infrastructure is already under great strain, could accommodate the proposed targets.”
In addition to legal immigration being a divisive issue, Immigration Minister Marc Miller confirmed last week that the government would be walking back plans to give residential status to any illegal immigrants in Canada.
The Trudeau government had initially planned to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities” in 2021 but is now acknowledging that it’s not a desire for most citizens.
“As frustrating as that is to hear for people that are in a precarious position of being undocumented in Canada and are contributing to the economy — and perhaps kids that are Canadian — I think we have to be quite clear with Canadians and quite realistic about what’s achievable,” Miller told CBC News.
“Despite the economic imperative, despite the very humanitarian imperative that a broad regularization program presents, it is clear to me that Canadians are not there and that’s just reality.”
The Immigration Department estimates that there are approximately 300,000 to 600,000 illegal immigrants currently residing in Canada.