Canada Added 700,000 New Temporary Residents in 1 Year

Last Updated On 29 September 2023, 10:47 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

On September 27, 2023, Statistics Canada unveiled the new data reporting number of temporary residents already in Canada on study permits, work permits, and asylum claimants.

This demographic data reveals a nearly 700,000 increase in the number of temporary residents year-on-year as of the second quarter of 2023.

We expect that this number could easily breach the 2.5 million mark by the end of 2023.

No Clear Pathway For Permanent Residency

These Canadian temporary residents (TRs) are facing uncertainty around options to get Canadian Permanent Residency (PR).

More than 1 million work permit holders in Canada are looking for permanent residency options through Canada’s economic immigration options.

However, the number of PR spots through these economic immigration are capped and quite less than number of these TRs in Canada.

Temporary Resident Type	Q2 2023	Q1 2023	Q4 2022	Q3 2022	Q2 2022
Total, asylum claimant	256,958	238,186	217,925	192,914	177,281
Work permit holders only	1,001,479	853,221	766,690	698,522	599,810
Study permit holders only	582,201	559,428	575,431	537,581	477,491
Work and study permit holders	273,850	240,653	227,937	213,758	189,862
Other (mainly refers to family members living with permit holders)	84,191	73,830	68,900	63,972	56,534
Total Temporary Residents	2,198,679	1,965,318	1,856,883	1,706,747	1,500,978

Canada has set annual target for all the economic immigration program at 266,210 for 2023 with target of over 301,000 by 2025.

Furthermore, these temporary residents have to compete with international talent for the same number of PR spots.

Canada’s flagship program Express Entry has a specific category for individuals having Canadian Experience, but IRCC has not conducted any round of invitations specific for this category since 2021.

No CEC Express Entry Draw Since 2021 Leaves Many In Limbo

So this increase in number of temporary residents across Canada is due to less conversion of TRs to PRs forcing them to extend their stay by enrolling in study programs or gettting LMIA based work permits from within Canada.

Canadian government also introduced PGWP extension allowing internatioal students on a work permit after graduation to extend their status for another 18 months.

In layman’s eyes, Canada already has enough temporary residents to fulfill permanent residency targets for next 6-7 years if they don’t invite anyone from outside Canada.

However, Canadian immigration has now became more competitive with focus on giving permanent residency to individuals having experience in occupations with labour shortage, Francophones, and individuals with high level of education as well as 3-4 years of experience.

Internationally, educational consultants have already started advising new international students to avoid Canada and choose other developed countries given the economic slowdown and uncetainty around permanent residency options.

Province-Wise Number of Temporary Residents

Ontario has the highest number of temporary residents close to 1 million among all the categories.

Province	Total Temporary Residents	Asylum Claimants	Work Permit Holders	Study Permit Holders	Both Work and Study Permit Holders	Others (mainly refers to family members living with permit holders)
Ontario	986,863	90,793	419,475	284,739	159,806	32,050
Quebec	470,976	146,723	200,522	63,799	38,858	21,074
British Columbia	400,964	11,384	196,259	138,434	38,848	16,039
Alberta	150,320	5,766	89,575	36,576	11,013	7,390
Manitoba	60,615	1,434	32,608	18,068	6,652	1,853
Nova Scotia	45,794	325	20,712	13,619	9,056	2,082
Saskatchewan	30,704	236	15,512	10,512	2,957	1,487
New Brunswick	27,458	188	13,864	7,476	4,626	1,304
Newfoundland and Labrador	12,911	73	6,063	5,017	1,186	572
Prince Edward Island	9,953	26	5,192	3,702	745	288
Yukon	1,446	0	1,120	217	80	29
Northwest Territories	567	7	490	38	20	12
Nunavut	108	3	87	4	3	11

Canadian Population Crossess 40 Million

Increase in temporary residents has also contributed to increase in overall Canadian population surpassing 40 million in July 2023.

More than 75% of the population reside in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia with Ontario being home to half of it.

Alberta recorded the highest percentage increase in population in 1 year as of July 2023.

Geography	Q3 2023	Q3 2022	Year-on-Year Change
Canada	40,097,761	38,939,056	2.98%
Ontario	15,608,369	15,145,006	3.06%
Quebec	8,874,683	8,672,185	2.34%
British Columbia	5,519,013	5,356,284	3.04%
Alberta	4,695,290	4,510,891	4.09%
Manitoba	1,454,902	1,413,409	2.94%
Saskatchewan	1,209,107	1,178,422	2.60%
Nova Scotia	1,058,694	1,025,445	3.24%
New Brunswick	834,691	809,568	3.10%
Newfoundland and Labrador	538,605	531,583	1.32%
Prince Edward Island	173,787	167,188	3.95%
Yukon	44,975	43,905	2.44%
Northwest Territories5	44,972	44,685	0.64%

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