e-4385 (Citizenship and immigration)

Family reunification is a key pillar of Canada’s immigration system that will continue to be firmly supported by the Government of Canada. This commitment is reflected in the Government’s decision to announce significant annual increases to permanent resident admissions through the Parents and Grandparents Program in the multi-year Levels Plan in the past years. In response to continued strong demand for parents and grandparents sponsorship and our desire to support families, the Government has increased the targeted number of parents and grandparents admissions from 25,000 in 2022 to 28,500 in 2023, 32,000 in 2024 and 34,000 in 2025 and 2026.

Family class admissions must, however, be balanced with other immigration categories in order to meet Canada’s broader immigration objectives, including under the economic and refugee streams. Because of this, a random selection model has been implemented. The current intake system was introduced in large part to improve fairness and accessibility when compared to previous models. The 2019 online first-in system, for example, posed technical challenges for some prospective sponsors and may have disadvantaged those with certain cognitive or physical disabilities. The random selection model overcomes these obstacles by ensuring that regardless of when an Interest to Sponsor form is submitted during the three week submission period, all interested sponsors have an equal opportunity of being invited to apply, including via alternative submission methods to promote accessibility.

The Government understands that there is growing demand for a new interest to sponsor period to be announced for prospective sponsors who were unable to express their interest in 2020 and for those who would like submit an Interest to Sponsor form for the first time. The viability and timing of the next intake are currently being assessed and an announcement will be communicated in a timely manner once a decision has been made.

Regarding application-related caps, it is important to note that these limits are not arbitrary. Demand for sponsorship continues to exceed the admissions targets in the annual Immigration Levels Plan, the tool by which the Government of Canada sets the number of permanent residents to be admitted within each immigration category annually. This in turn determines how many applications can be processed. If application limits were not set, this would likely contribute to a significant negative impact on processing times, a growing backlog of cases and more uncertainty for selected sponsors and their family members. The current model ensures that Canada can continue to benefit from the managed migration system that has served it well for decades while upholding fairness.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has and will continue to work to improve processing times in all our programs. In a recent 2023 Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada on processing applications for permanent residence, the Department established that it would prioritize creating service standards for services that currently have none, including permanent residence streams, such as the family class, as part of a comprehensive multi-year service standard review. Completion of the first phase is expected by the end of the 2024–25 fiscal year.

Finally, the Government also continues to actively assess ways in which to improve all lines of business, including the family class stream. As was raised in the Strategic Immigration Review reportpublished on October 31, 2023, IRCC is committed to exploring how we can enhance the immigration experience for families. Part of this process includes reviewing ways to ensure that equity considerations are built into policy and program changes and to better support accompanying family members.