Introduction to the Special Issue—Canada’s Economic Immigration Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for the Road Ahead

Canada’s unique approach to immigration was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike most immigrant-receiving countries, Canada ramped up immigration targets to historic levels and announced plans to welcome 500,000 permanent immigrants per year by 2025. Most of these newcomers will be selected for their ability to contribute to the labour market through economic entry categories. This article introduces a special issue on the current state of Canada’s economic immigration system. It provides an overview of the evolution of economic immigration in recent years and explores how the flexibility of the Canadian system was leveraged during the pandemic. This introduction identifies the major trends in Canadian immigration including the shift from one-step to two-step immigration. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the individual contributions to the issue, which critically reflect on Canada’s approach to immigrant selection, the relationship between temporary and permanent migration, and the effectiveness of the Canadian system for various groups of immigrants and Canada as a society. The aim is to gather lessons which will be useful to migration scholars and policymakers throughout the world.