愛污传媒

World

    • War and economy push immigration to Britain to record high in 2022

    A protest outside the Manston immigration short-term holding facility near Thanet, Kent, England, on Nov. 6, 2022. (Alberto Pezzali / AP) A protest outside the Manston immigration short-term holding facility near Thanet, Kent, England, on Nov. 6, 2022. (Alberto Pezzali / AP)
    Share
    LONDON -

    The number of people moving to Britain reached a record high of more than 600,000 in 2022, government figures showed Thursday, sparking renewed debate about the scale of immigration and its impact on the U.K.

    Net migration -- the difference between the number of people arriving and those leaving -- was 606,000 for the year, according to the Office for National Statistics. A total of 1.2 million people moved to the U.K. in 2022, while 557,000 left.

    The net figure is up from just under 500,000 in 2021. The total U.K. population is about 67 million.

    The statistics office said the record level was due to a "series of unprecedented world events throughout 2022 and the lifting of restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic." It said the number of arrivals appeared to have leveled off in recent months.

    As well as people coming to Britain to work, the figure includes tens of thousands of international students and more than 160,000 people who have arrived under special programs for people fleeing war in Ukraine and China's clampdown in Hong Kong.

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the immigration figure was "too high," but he did not say what an ideal number would be.

    "We've got to be sensitive to the needs of the (health service), the economy, but fundamentally the numbers are too high -- I'm bringing them down," he told broadcaster ITV.

    In an attempt to cut the numbers, the government announced this week that most overseas graduate students will no longer be allowed to bring dependents with them when they come to study in Britain.

    The high figure revived debate about Britain's departure from the European Union, which was motivated in part by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people from across Europe in the years before the 2016 Brexit referendum.

    Supporters of Brexit said leaving the EU -- which gives citizens of any member country the right to live and work in all the others -- would allow the U.K. to control its borders. Many who voted for Brexit thought immigration would fall, but the opposite has been true. The U.K. still issues tens of thousands of work visas a year to fill jobs in hospitals, nursing homes and other sectors.

    While the number of people moving to Britain from EU countries fell to 151,000 in 2022, the number from outside the bloc was 925,000, and India has overtaken European nations as the top source of workers.

    Immigration has long been a complex issue in the U.K., where about one in six residents was born in another country. Most economists say immigration is an economic boon to Britain, and essential to fill gaps in the workforce. But some residents say new arrivals are putting more pressure on overstretched public services and worsening a national housing shortage.

    The subject of immigration also gets conflated with the emotive issue of asylum-seekers who arrive in Britain in small boats across the English Channel. The U.K. government has taken controversial steps to try to halt the journeys, including a contentious and legally contested plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda.

    Some lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party demanded tough new measures to curb immigration. But Conservative legislator Alicia Kearns, who chairs Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, warned against "knee-jerk reactions."

    She said net migration numbers shouldn't include students, adding that the U.K.'s position as an "academic superpower" is very beneficial. She added that the country needs "to fill jobs wealth creators have made," and that the U.K. has been proud to offer refuge to Ukrainians and residents of Hong Kong.

    Madeleine Sumption, director of Oxford University's Migration Observatory, said there was no reason to think net migration would "remain this high indefinitely."

    "These unusually high net migration levels do not have a single cause but result from several things happening at once: the war in Ukraine, a boom in international student recruitment and high demand for health and care workers," she said.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    BREAKING

    BREAKING

    The ongoing count of absentee ballots in B.C.鈥檚 nail-biting 2024 provincial election has put the NDP ahead of the Conservatives in the Surrey-Guildford riding.

    A group of Cape Breton firefighters are apologizing after four people showed up at a Halloween dance dressed in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan costumes.

    Marred by several delays, the trial of alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney is underway Monday in a Bradford courtroom, with both entering a not guilty plea.

    Canada

    • A group of Cape Breton firefighters are apologizing after four people showed up at a Halloween dance dressed in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan costumes.

    • Marred by several delays, the trial of alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney is underway Monday in a Bradford courtroom, with both entering a not guilty plea.

    • A B.C. man who went missing nearly 15 years ago, while facing multiple sexual abuse allegations, has been declared dead by the court 鈥 which found he likely died when a fire engulfed the airplane hangar where he was last seen.

    • Montreal's mayor says a welcome sign depicting a woman wearing a veil that adorns a lobby at city hall will be taken down in the name of secularism.

    • A major amusement park is part of Ontario's grand vision to turn the Niagara region into Las Vegas north, but Marineland may not fit the bill, the provincial tourism minister says.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.

    Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.

    New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.

    A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

    Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

    He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

    A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

    Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

    A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      The ongoing count of absentee ballots in B.C.鈥檚 nail-biting 2024 provincial election has put the NDP ahead of the Conservatives in the Surrey-Guildford riding.

    • A B.C. man who went missing nearly 15 years ago, while facing multiple sexual abuse allegations, has been declared dead by the court 鈥 which found he likely died when a fire engulfed the airplane hangar where he was last seen.

    • A Coroner鈥檚 inquest has been scheduled to look into the circumstances around a man鈥檚 death during a confrontation with the RCMP in Whistler, B.C., more than four years ago.

    • New home sales in the Greater Toronto Area remained sluggish last month, but a new report suggests that the market is now primed for buyers following four consecutive interest rate cuts.

    • Peel Regional Police say investigators have arrested five suspects and seized dozens of guns and illegal devices used to convert firearms into automatic weapons.

    • RCMP say a Medicine Hat man was killed in a collision between an SUV and a motorcycle in southeast Alberta on Sunday evening.

    • Calgary鈥檚 Mission Bridge will be closed to motorists for several months as city crews complete rehabilitation work.

    • A Liberal member of Parliament says he's baffled by the Alberta United Conservative government's response to his private member's bill about pandemic preparedness.

    • Grief counsellors are at Perth and District Collegiate Institute in Perth, Ont. today, as family, friends and the community mourn the death of 15-year-old Reese Stanzel.

    • OC Transpo says it will be confirming the launch timeline for Ottawa's much-anticipated north-south line this week.

    • Suspended Ottawa lawyer James Bowie has been ordered to pay $235,000 in damages to a former client after he repeatedly suggested she pay for his legal services with oral sex and released personal details about her online after the allegations were reported by 愛污传媒 Ottawa.

    • A new study suggests Montrealers are going downtown less often with four in 10 saying they go less often than before the pandemic.

    • Montreal's mayor says a welcome sign depicting a woman wearing a veil that adorns a lobby at city hall will be taken down in the name of secularism.

    • The National Director of Youth Protection, Catherine Lemay, resigned at the request of the minister responsible for social services, Lionel Carmant, after institutional scandals.

    • Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.

    • A Bonnyville woman has been accused of trying to lure a boy and his friends to her hotel room.

    • Police are looking for help identifying an armed robber in a costume.

    • A group of Cape Breton firefighters are apologizing after four people showed up at a Halloween dance dressed in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan costumes.

    • The Saint John Police Force is asking for the public鈥檚 help in locating a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with a shooting incident in the city over the weekend.

    • Halifax Regional Police is investigating two break-and-enters in parking garages early Sunday morning.

    • Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has honoured first responders for their actions following a fiery bus crash on the Trans-Canada Highway last year that killed 17 people.

    • Three youths were arrested after a senior was shot in the head with a BB gun early Monday morning.

    • Advocates say new data showing record food bank usage across Canada marks a somber milestone, while the Manitoba organization helping to feed those in need said they are being pushed to the brink by the unprecedented demand.

    • Candidates across Saskatchewan have made their final pitches to potential voters as the 2024 campaign comes to a close and election day arrives.

    • With multiple polls suggesting a tight race to the finish for Saskatchewan's major political parties 鈥 here are the ridings where some extra attention may be required.

    • Election day has arrived in Saskatchewan. With it, the last wave of voters prepare to cast their ballots and decide who will form government in the province.

    • What role does ideology play in the sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty to four charges in an attack at the University of Waterloo?

    • The Guelph Police Service is planning to dedicate more resources to ensuring public safety in the city鈥檚 downtown area as part of an ongoing initiative.

    • Police say just before 5 p.m. Friday, the suspects went to an address near Dawson Road and Shelldale Crescent and banged on the door.

    • Candidates across Saskatchewan have made their final pitches to potential voters as the 2024 campaign comes to a close and election day arrives.

    • With multiple polls suggesting a tight race to the finish for Saskatchewan's major political parties 鈥 here are the ridings where some extra attention may be required.

    • A construction worker who was robbed, shot and left for dead last week remains in a Saskatoon hospital awaiting more surgeries.

    • Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Sudbury on Monday afternoon to make an infrastructure funding announcement at a wastewater facility.

    • A landlord in Sault Ste. Marie discriminated against a man who is deaf and has limited sight, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ruled.

    • Two people were busted in Nipissing First Nation trying to use fake money to buy machinery, Anishinabek Police Service says.

    • For eight decades 鈥 yes, eight decades 鈥 a London veteran has distributed poppies to Canadians. 87-year-old Sam Newman began distributing poppies as a boy.

    • The London Police Service has laid charges in connection to a downtown weapons investigation.

    • The closure between Florence Street and Hale Street is expected to end Friday afternoon. Detours are in place until the construction ends.

    • Marred by several delays, the trial of alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney is underway Monday in a Bradford courtroom, with both entering a not guilty plea.

    • On Monday, the Ontario government revealed it had awarded a major contract to Miller/Brennan to manage construction of the western section of the Bradford Bypass in Simcoe County.

    • Huntsville OPP and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) are conducting a homicide investigation after three individuals were found dead in a Huntsville neighbourhood Friday evening.

    • Windsor police officers are asking for the public鈥檚 help to identify two suspects related to the death of a 69-year-old man in south-central Windsor.

    • A man is facing several charges after a five-hour standoff with Windsor police over the weekend.

    • A worker has been injured at the NextStar Energy Plant in Windsor.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      The ongoing count of absentee ballots in B.C.鈥檚 nail-biting 2024 provincial election has put the NDP ahead of the Conservatives in the Surrey-Guildford riding.

    • Police with the British Columbia Highway Patrol have arrested a 28-year-old man after 73 kilograms of cocaine were allegedly found inside a vehicle near the resort city of Revelstoke.

    • A minor earthquake shook off the coast of B.C. Monday morning, which registered at a magnitude of 4.1, according to federal officials.

    • More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • RCMP say a Medicine Hat man was killed in a collision between an SUV and a motorcycle in southeast Alberta on Sunday evening.

    • A tentative agreement has been reached between the City of Lethbridge and more than 900 employees belonging to CUPE Local 70.

    • The Hurricanes will be happy to be back home in Lethbridge Saturday night after losing their third in a row on the road Friday night, a 4-1 decision to the Broncos in Swift Current.

    • One person has been charged after police in the Sault received a report of someone asleep at the wheel last weekend in a parking lot on Bay Street.

    • Ontario Provincial Police say three people have been charged with arson following a fire at a Sioux Lookout apartment building Friday night.

    • Last week, tariffs surrounding Chinese steel and aluminum products went into effect and stakeholders in northern Ontario and abroad say it's good news.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 愛污传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 愛污传媒