October 27, 2021
New Federal Immigration Minister: The Honourable Sean Fraser!
On 26 October 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed his new cabinet following Canada’s most recent federal election last month.
Honourable Sean Fraser will replace Honourable Marco Mendocino as the country’s new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Minister Fraser previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance from 2019 to 2021, and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change from 2018 to 2019.[1] In 2021, he also served concurrently as Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister.[2]
IRCC will continue to pursue its top priorities. In a meeting on 21 October 2021 with associations representing Canadian immigration lawyers and consultants, IRCC announced their three priorities, which include: achieving their 401,000 permanent residents target for 2021, family reunification, and resettling Afghan refugees.[3]
Meanwhile, IRCC and provinces and territories will also continue to invite immigration candidates through Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and Quebec’s programs.[4]
Prime Minister Trudeau is expected to release new mandate letters for his ministers by March 2022, which will aim to guide the policy priorities of each federal department, including IRCC.[5]