CIMM – Permanent Resident Admissions – November 07, 2023

Figure 1: Number of Permanent Residents admitted to Canada

Admissions of Permanent Residents by Immigration Category

Notes:

• Data is as of September 30, 2023, and are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
• Please note that all values between 0 and 5 are shown as “--”. This is done to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled and compared to other publicly available statistics. All other values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for the same reason; as a result of rounding, data may not sum to the totals indicated.

Summary of Trends

Between 2020 and September 2023, nearly 1.4 million individuals were admitted as permanent residents in Canada. During this period, there was a consistent rise in the total number of admissions, particularly from 2020 to 2022.

• From 2020 to 2022, the number of admissions increased substantially, showing a remarkable 137% growth, with figures increasing from 184,575 to 437,590 individuals.
• Between January and September 2023, approximately 371,000 permanent residents were admitted. This represents an increase of approximately 5% when compared to the same period in the preceding year, January to September 2022, which had 354,300 permanent residents admitted.

It is worth noting that economic class admissions consistently constituted the largest portion of annual permanent resident admissions, making up around 60% of the total permanent resident admissions each year.

Permanent Resident Admissions – Economic Class Breakdown

Figure 2: Number of Permanent Residents admitted under the Economic Class

Admissions of Permanent Residents by Economic Class Immigration Categories

Notes:

• Data is as of September 30, 2023, and are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
• Please note that all values between 0 and 5 are shown as “--”. This is done to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled and compared to other publicly available statistics. All other values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for the same reason; as a result of rounding, data may not sum to the totals indicated.

Summary of Trends

Between 2020 and September 2023, approximately 833,000 persons were admitted as Permanent Residents under the Economic category.

• In the same time period, more than 400,000 persons were admitted under the Canadian Experience Class and Skilled Worker Categories. This accounted for over 50% of admissions under the Economic Category. 

Permanent Resident Admissions with a Prior Work Permit

Figure 3: Number of Permanent Residents who had a Prior Work Permit.

Admissions of Permanent Residents with a Prior Work Permit

Notes:

• Data is as of September 30, 2023, and are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
• Please note that all values between 0 and 5 are shown as “--”. This is done to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled and compared to other publicly available statistics. All other values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for the same reason; as a result of rounding, data may not sum to the totals indicated.
• Numbers presented in this table are referring to those holders with work permits issued for work purposes only.

Summary of Trends

Individuals with previous work permits consistently constituted a substantial source of permanent resident admissions from 2020 to September 2023.

• Over this period, former work permit holders made up approximately 36% of all permanent resident admissions, with a notably high representation in 2021, when they accounted for 49% of permanent resident admissions. In that year, nearly 200,000 individuals who became permanent residents had previously held work permits.
• This increase in former work permit holders becoming permanent residents is mainly attributed to those holding work permits under the International Mobility Program, as only 2% of permanent residents had previously held work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program before obtaining permanent resident status.

Work Permit Holders

Figure 4: Number of Work Permit Holders by Year in which Permit(s) became effective (this includes only new and renewed permits in one year).

Work Permit Holder by Year in which Permit(s) Became Effective

Notes:

• Data is as of September 30, 2023, and are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
• Please note that all values between 0 and 5 are shown as “--”. This is done to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled and compared to other publicly available statistics. All other values are rounded
• The total unique count may not equal to the sum of permit holders in each program as an individual may hold more than one type of permit over the given period.

Summary of Trends

From 2020 to September 2023, the number of individuals holding work permits consistently rose, increasing from 329,900 to 744,920. This growth signifies a remarkable 125% increase.

• During the first nine months of 2023 (January to September), there were 744,920 individuals holding work permits that became effective in that same year.
• Of the two primary work permit programs, the majority of work permit holders fall under the International Mobility Program (IMP).
• It's noteworthy that the growth of the International Mobility Program (IMP) outpaced that of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) over this period, with IMP experiencing a 140% increase compared to TFWP's 85% growth.

Quebec – Asylum Claimants and Temporary Residents

Figure 5: Number of Asylum Claimants and Temporary Residents with Quebec as Province of Destination

Quebec (Province of Destination) – Asylum Claimants and Temporary Residents

Notes:

• Data is as of September 30, 2023, and are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
• The total unique count may not equal to the sum of permit holders as an individual may hold more than one type of permit over a given period.
• Numbers presented here include all individuals who had a valid permit during the time period regardless of the year the permit was issued.

Summary of Trends

From 2020 to September 2023, the numbers of individuals who had a valid permit in Quebec has consistently increased.

• For January to September 2023, there were 352,445 work permit and 140,610 study permit holders. This represented an increase of 63% for work permit holders and 26% for study permit holders from 2020 (specifically 215,633 and 111,375). 
  • Furthermore, when comparing the first 9 months of 2023 with 2022 (full year), this represented an increase of 23% for work permit holders and 4% for study permit holders.

In addition to permit holders, there were 47,350 Asylum Claimants for January to September 2023. This is a 384% increase from 2020 and has reached 81% of full 2022 year figures.

For the complete time series, from 2020 to September 2023, work permit holders represented the larger group with 474,914 holders, which is twice the study permit holder figure of 237,580, while the asylum claimants represented the smallest population with 125,815 claimants destined to Quebec.