Canadian Immigration News

Earlier today, the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) released statistics showing that it continues to maintain a high rate of immigration. Canada welcomed more than half a million permanent and temporary residents last year, a figure CIC says is helping to support the economic recovery in Canada.

Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced that the Canadian government had extended its immigration agreement with the province of Ontario for an additional year.

The Canadian economy showed the largest monthly gain in jobs on record in April, adding 108,700 jobs. In addition, Canada’s jobless rate fell from 8.2 per cent in March to 8.1 per cent in April.

Last year, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced that the Young Newcomers Internship Program would become a permanent program, after a 1-year pilot project proved to be successful. Last week, Canadian immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that the program would be expanded.

According to MoneySense Magazine, the capital city of Ottawa is once again voted the most liveable city in Canada, for factors such as quality of schools, housing costs, availability of jobs, and other factors that influence the daily standard of living.

Like all the provinces and two of the territories, Ontario and Nova Scotia have their own Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Both provinces have recently made modifications to the International Student streams of their PNPs to make it easier for applicants to qualify for the programs.

The Southern Ontario town of Peterborough aims to attract more immigrants, and has set up an online portal about living and working in the town to help achieve this goal.

The Canadian government is introducing special accommodations for individuals on temporary status in Canada who have been affected by the April 14 volcanic eruption in Iceland.

Saskatchewan can look forward to substantial economic growth in 2010, according to three economic reports released this month.

In 2009, the province of Manitoba welcomed the highest number of new immigrants in almost a century, and hopes to welcome 20,000 newcomers annually by 2017.