Canada

Location:		North America
Status:		UN Country
Capital City:		Ottawa
Main Cities:		Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver
Population:		28,147,000 Area [sq.km]: 9,976,140
Currency:		1 Canadian dollar = 100 cents
Main Languages:		English, French, Inuktitut
Main Religions:		Roman Catholic, Protestant

Canada benefits from opening its doors to skilled workers, entrepreneurs, refugees and the relatives of people already settled in this country. Their energy and activity have traditionally stimulated our social, cultural and economic life.

IMMIGRATION
The Government of Canada prepares an annual immigration plan in consultation with the provinces. It seeks to balance various considerations, including economic growth, family reunification and humanitarian compassion. Canadians are justly proud of our reputation for refugee resettlement.

Every year, close to 39 million visitors come to Canada. Citizenship and Immigration staff admits about 240,000 immigrants including skilled workers, business immigrants, family members and refugees.

Each year, Citizenship and Immigration officers:

• process more than 100,000 immigration applications;
• process about 100,000 employment authorizations;
• grant close to 45,000 visitor extensions;
• conduct approximately 20,000 investigations;
• supervise the removal of about 5,000 people from Canada who were in the country
• illegally; in Canada alone, staff processed over 50,700 student authorizations (documents issued for new entrants and extensions); and staff abroad processed 33,200 student authorizations.