Canada grants residency to 401,000 foreigners, meets 2021 immigration target

Canada met its target of granting 401,000 foreigners permanent residency in 2021 by focusing its efforts on temporary residents already in the country, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Thursday.

Canada, which depends on immigration to drive its economy and support an ageing population, saw new permanent residents falling over 45 per cent to 185,000 in 2020, when borders were largely closed due to Covid-19.

The majority of the new 401,000 permanent residents - a figure reached for the first time in more than a century - were already in Canada on temporary status, according to a statement from the immigration minister.

"Last year, we set an ambitious goal. Today, we achieved it," Fraser said.

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has relied on immigration to boost the Canadian economy since coming to power in 2015, setting an annual target of about 1 per cent of the country's population of nearly 38 million.

Official data released earlier on Thursday showed Canada's economy likely expanded for the sixth consecutive month in November, coming very close to pre-pandemic levels.