August 22, 2016

Minister Seeks to Increase Immigration to Canada

During a speech to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines last Friday, Immigration Minister John McCallum expressed his goal to increase immigration to Canada due to its aging population and expected labour shortage. Minister McCallum plans to unveil his three-year immigration plan this fall; a key aspect to the Trudeau government’s 2016 target to admit approximately 280,000 to 305,000 new permanent residents.

The Minister also reported that the government is in the process of reforming the Express Entry system, which was introduced in January 2015. Part of this reform will be making it easier for international students to come to Canada, as well as making it easier for them to obtain permanent residence after their studies. He also plans to reduce some of the immigration barriers, such as the requirement for a labour market impact assessment (“LMIA”), by streamlining the process and not requiring an LMIA for every immigrant. New visa application centers will also be opened to facilitate processing of applicants, particularly in China. Hoping to increase applicants from China, new visa application centers in Chengdu, Nanjin, Wuhan, Jinan and Shenyang are also scheduled to be opened.

For more information on the Express Entry system, please click here.

(Sources)