Livestream Video: Deconstructing Canada’s Historic Immigration Levels Announcement

Last Updated on November 30, 2017

November 30, 2017 – In the November 2, 2017 immigration.ca livestream video, immigration lawyer Colin Singer discusses the impact of the recent three-year immigration levels announcement by Ottawa.

Singer also focuses on the Quebec 2018 immigration levels plan, with the French-speaking province having greater control than any other province over who it brings in.

Singer examines the impact of the increase in federal levels on each Canada immigration category, and what it reveals about the Liberal government’s plan going forwards.

Watch the video, or read what immigration lawyer Singer has to say below.

Watch the Full Livestream Video Here

On Quebec Immigration Levels

“Quebec came out with their annual level last week. Quebec has a unique relationship in terms of how they manage their immigration program. It accounts for 17 per cent of Canada’s overall levels. Quebec will bring in around 50,000 per year. What we’re seeing is a consistent level for the next year. The increase is negligible.

“Quebec is looking to hold things steady so they can get through their fairly large inventory. The problem for Quebec is that delays on processing have been unmanageably high. Quebec is trying to get a handle on its inventory by keeping the numbers stable. You will also see Quebec is moving towards an expression of interest system. They are going to create a similar paradigm to what exists on the federal side.”

On Federal Canada Immigration Levels

“For the first time in decades, the federal government has put out a three-year plan for targeted levels. Keeping in mind that before the Liberal government came to power in 2015, we traditionally had 250,000 to 260,000 immigrants per year. Even back as far as the early 1990s, Canada was bringing in that many immigrants.

“The Liberal government moved that bar up by 40,000 to 300,000 for 2016 and 2017. The three-year plan looking forward will see 350,000 immigrants by 2020. It starts modestly in 2018 with a slight increase of 10,000 to 310,000. In 2019, it moves up to 330,000.

“We are looking at a 60-40 split in favour of economic immigrants. Those numbers move up as the levels move up over the three years, proportionately to the levels.

“There were interest groups looking to raise the bar much higher, but really integration was the important takeaway. Economic integration is the goal for everyone. The message we’re hearing is that these are the numbers the government feels it has the resources to deliver on. They need to have the ability to track all these numbers and make sure people are settling successfully.”

On Caregivers

“The caregiver category is bearing the brunt of some (sic) of these numbers. When the current government came into power we had 22,000 caregivers in 2016. In 2017 the forecast is 18,000 caregivers. Over the next three years, the plan is for 17,000 in 2018, 14,000 in 2019 and 5,000 in 2020.

“There is a big backlog of caregivers who have been applying for permanent residence. The rules changed dramatically two years ago, so that there is no longer an automatic pathway to permanent residence under the stream. You can get a work permit, but it is difficult to transition to permanent residence. This means some of the increases in other categories are coming from the caregiver stream.”

On International Student Immigration

“There is a growing pool of students in Canada, upwards of 400,000 per year. They are considered temporary residents. Theoretically, they are ideal candidates to apply for permanent residence. Knowing it is a challenge to keep students here, the goal is to bring in permanent residents from the temporary stream.

“The pathway to permanent residence for a foreign worker or a student is reasonable. These individuals are already integrated in Canada, already familiar with working and studying and have built good ties.”

On Business Immigration

“We’ve noticed from these levels that the business stream is not getting much attention. It is just a stagnant, stable number of 700 individuals per year. That tells us the government is not prioritising the development of a strong business stream.  If you look at these levels, there is not much attention given to business immigrants. That is surprising given the innovation and track record that some business candidates represent to Canada.

“If you look at Quebec business levels, they are also stable, but higher, in the 4,000 to 6,000 range. Quebec is the driver of business immigration to Canada and there doesn’t seem to be interest from the federal government in business immigrants to Canada.”

On Family Class Immigration

“On family class, you do see a steady increase in the levels proportionate to the overall increase. The parent and grandparent stream is not changing very much from within the 20,000 range.”

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