Grant Thornton: Immigration

Immigration Dept: The report by the accounting firm Grant Thornton estimates 1,151 principal applicants made P.E.I. their permanent home from 2001 to 2010, with family members that would be 3,662 newcomers settling on the Island. Do you believe PNP fundamentally transformed immigration on P.E.I.?, according to CBC. Those numbers could have been much higher but the retention rate of the immigrants who pay money to come to P.E.I. continues to be low. That is estimated at just 37 per cent and A government-commissioned review of the Provincial Nominee Program says the program "fundamentally transformed" immigration on P.E.I. The program accounted for 94 per cent of all immigration to P.E.I. over that period. The report says investments through the program were about $106 million, with a GDP impact of $60.4 million. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.