Canada grants them residence permit in three years
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigerians with permanent residence status in Canada numbered 51,836 in the 2016 census. The figure is higher when permanent residents who did not participate in the head count and illegal immigrants factor in.
And about 18,438 Nigerians received Invitation To Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residency (PR) between 2018 and 2020, the third highest figure, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Nigerian men who received ITAs were 4,735 and women 6,907. Women outnumbered men by 2,172 among Nigerians granted PR in the three years.
The IRCC compiled the data in its Express Entry annual report for 2020 just released.
Nigerians are mainly in 13 provinces, the top five being Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and British Columbia. Each hosts more than 2,000 Nigerians. Ontario has 26,560 and Alberta 13,010 according to the census, documented by Wikipedia.
Success in Alberta
Alberta stands out as a high achieving region for Nigerians. At least politically. There, Kelechi Madu, a law graduate from the University of Lagos, was appointed Minister of Justice and Solicitor General in August 2020.
Kelechi, popularly known as Kaycee, emigrated to Canada in 2005 with his wife and enrolled in postgraduate studies at the University of Alberta.
In 2017, he was one of 22 new cabinet members whom Alberta Premier, Jason Kenney, swore in at Government House in Edmonton.
He is a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP).
Kaycee had been elected earlier in 2017 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing Edmonton South-West. He was sworn in as a lawmaker on May 21.
He served as both Minister of Municipal Affairs of the Province of Alberta and a Member of Parliament representing Edmonton South-West.
The ministry is the third largest in Alberta with over $3.7 billion portfolio.
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Nigerians account for 6.5% of ITA
The IRCC data shows that Nigerians accounted for 6.5 per cent of ITA recipients in the three years, ranking third behind India and China, per reporting by Nairametrics.
Despite the pandemic in 2020, Canadian PR invitations rose 25.8 per cent to 107,350 compared with 85,300 in 2019 and 89,800 in 2018.
More than half (54 per cent) of ITAs issued in 2020 were under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), an increase from 2019 (36 per cent). It reflects a shift by the IRCC to CEC invitations amid the pandemic.
Some 931,487 people from across the world submitted applications to the Express Entry pool between 2018 and 2020. Up to 71 per cent (661,443) were eligible and 29 per cent (270,487) ineligible.
Canada broke its all-time immigration record in 2021 by inviting over 401,000 immigrants. The IRCC report said 70 per cent of the immigrants were from within Canada, about 30 per cent arrived from overseas.
Why Nigerians prefer Canada
Nairametrics reports that Canada has been a welcoming environment for immigrants in recent years with a series of lottery draws across the country for immigrants to become citizens.
Economic and infrastructure deficits coupled with insecurity and unemployment are among the reasons Nigerians emigrate in search of greener pastures.
Canada had a record 912,600 job vacancies in the third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2021) due to economic recovery and significant growth in overall employment. Jobs availability incentivises Nigerians to choose Canada.
A report by Africa Polling Institute shows that weak economy, heightened insecurity, and perceived poor governance are some of the key “push factors” driving the upward trend in the emigration of Nigerians to other countries.
1.8m visa application backlog
A total 1.81 million visa applications were in December 2021 pending with the IRCC which facilitates the arrival of immigrants in Canada.
The backlog includes applications for both permanent residence permits and temporary visas such as work visas and study visas.
The pile up has grown by nearly 350,000 applications since July 2021, according to the IRCC, blaming measures against coronavirus around the world such as border closures and lockdowns.