As we set our sights on the year ahead, both federal and provincial officials are announcing that in 2006 the number of people coming to Canada reached an all-time high.

Canada accepted 262 000 permanent residents and refugees in the past year, and thousands more temporary foreign workers. Immigration officials expect these numbers to continue to rise above the new record highs.

More than half of the new immigrants to Canada settled in Ontario. 140 000 new permanent residents settled in the province in 2006. Rick Byun, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration said his province welcomed the influx. The success of newcomers will be Ontario’s success,” Byun said. “We have to have that labour force.”