immigration in Nova Scotia with the Atlantic Canadian province already having to bust its previous record for the number of permanent residents it welcomes every year.
“This year, 10,670 new permanent residents have already been recorded from January to September,” provincial Deputy Immigration Minister Ava Czapalay reportedly told the Nova Scotia Legislature’s public accounts committee.
“That is more than any previous year and we still have three months remaining in the calendar year for processing.”
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Based on the trend in those first nine months of the year, Nova Scotia is on track to have welcomed 14,227 new permanent residents by the end of 2022.
That would be 5,042, or 55.4 per cent, more new permanent residents settling in Nova Scotia this year than in 2021, which was already a record-breaking year with 9,155 new permanent residents immigrating to the province.
According to Czapalay, 83,000 applications were sent in for Destination Canada fairs.
“The Canadian embassy screened those applicants down to about 5,000 but we had everyone from truck drivers to French teachers to doctors, nurses, all kinds of people,” Czapalay reportedly said. “Our job in Immigration and Population Growth is to bring in the qualified people that Nova Scotia needs to grow its economy.”
Based on the current trend, the province could close the year with 181 per cent growth in its Nova Scotia’s Provincial Nominee Program (NSPNP) with 6,407 new permanent residents, or 4,127 more than the 2,280 last year.
Although the province’s PNP program numbers were still down last year compared to prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nova Scotia’s strong performance through the PNP this year would still be an 82.3 per cent improvement over the 3,515 new permanent residents it welcomed through it in 2019.
The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is showing steady growth this year and is projected to close up 8.4 per cent higher, at 2,900 new permanent residents than it did last year. With regards to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), numbers there are down by 64.9 per cent compared to last year.
But the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) is exploding in the province. It is up by 406.7 per cent, or 203 more new permanent residents, and projected to wrap up this year with 253 new permanent residents having been welcomed to Nova Scotia, up from only 50 in 2021.
In 2019, the FSW allowed 350 to immigrate to Nova Scotia.
The one-time, Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR-to-PR) pathway is on its way based on the current trend to see 1,740 people gain their permanent residence this year, up 89.1 per cent from last year.
Family Sponsorships And Refugee Numbers Are Up In Nova Scotia
By the end of the year, 1,067 relatives of people in Nova Scotia are projected to have been reunited with their loved ones through the family sponsorship programs. That’s up 46.1 per cent from last year and 21.2 per cent from 2019.
Refugee programs are showing even greater growth, projected to close the year with 1,160 new permanent residents in Nova Scotia, up 68.1 per cent from 690 last year.
In addition to the boom in permanent immigration, Nova Scotia is also attracting a lot more international students this year.
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Study permits to the province are on track to close the year up 29.1 per cent, at 12,853, compared to 9.955 last year.
The number of foreign nationals working in Nova Scotia through the International Mobility Program (IMP) is also on track to set a new record this year – but only barely. Based on the trend in the first nine months of this year, the province could see 7,780 work permits issued under the IMP this year, or roughly 1.8 per cent more than the record-setting 7,645 last year.
Nova Scotia Welcoming More Temporary Foreign Workers To Its Shores
Add to that a projected 59.8 per cent growth in foreign nationals working in Nova Scotia through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), expected to issue to 3,947 by the end of this year, and it becomes clear that the province’s ability to grow its economy by TD Economics’ projected 2.2 per cent this year is very much being aided by immigration.
“We’ve upgraded our 2022 growth forecast for Nova Scotia, bucking the nationwide trend. Construction activity is on a tear, with building investment up 20 per cent compared to its 2021 average,” noted TD Economics economists Beata Caranci, Derek Burleton, Rishi Sondhi, and Jenny Duan in their provincial outlook in late September.
“Indeed, homebuilding remains elevated, industrial construction is very strong, and commercial investment is continuing its recovery from the pandemic.
“What’s more, the government is rolling out its record $1.6 billion capital plan through projects like the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Augmenting the strength in construction is the services sector. Re-openings and a hot housing market have spurred solid hiring in industries such as accommodation and food services and finance, and real estate.”