The country admitted over 401,000 new permanent residents this year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). (The Logic)

Talking point: Large COVID-19 outbreaks in major source countries like India and China, travel restrictions and processing-centre closures contributed to Canada falling significantly short of its 2020 goal. The majority of this year’s admittees were people already within the country’s borders on temporary work or other short-term permits, magnifying a long-running trend toward a two-step migration system. Breakdowns of the number of economic- and family-class permanent residents won’t be available until January, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser’s office told The Logic. Ottawa is targeting 411,000 arrivals next year. Plenty of applicants continue to report long wait times and processing delays, with IRCC sitting on 548,195 permanent-residence applications as of Oct. 27.