The parliament of Canada has announced plans to welcome more than one million new immigrants as permanent residents in coming three years.

The decision has reportedly been taken to offset Canada’s aging population and declining birth rate while growing its labor force.

Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) has said “Thanks in great part to the newcomers we have welcomed throughout our history, Canada has developed into the strong and vibrant country we all enjoy.”

The Canadian officials have said the country will likely welcome 350,000 new immigrants during the current year while the number would grow to 360,000 in 2020 and 370,000 in 2021.

At least 286,000 new immigrants were welcomed during the year 2017, according to the officials.

The latest announcement by Canada follows the restrictive immigration policies adopted by certain western countries including United States.

This comes as there has been an unprecedented rise in the levels of refugees during the recent the recent years with the UNHCR figures showing around 68.5 million people have been forcibly displaced.

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