OTTAWA - The government is set to announce Friday that a near-record number foreigners was allowed into Canada last year - 429,000 - a total higher than in any year since 1911.

That sum includes 251,000 permanent residents, as well as temporary workers and foreign students, said government sources who released the number to The Canadian Press. 

The NDP dismissed the figure as artificially inflated by temporary residents - including "cheap labour" seasonal workers and students - and note the actual number of permanent residents was 262,000 in 2005.

The latest figures will be released on the same day as a controversial piece of legislation, which is designed to cut processing times for some immigrants - but which could also shut out others.

The budget implementation bill will include a legislative change that gives the immigration minister the authority to cap applications beyond a certain limit if the backlog gets too long.