Canada Wants To Make More Temporary Residents Permanent

Canada’s Immigration Minister Wants To Make More Temporary Residents Permanent

Canada is aiming to lower the number of temporary residents to 5 per cent of its population over the next three years. To help achieve that aim, Immigration Minister Marc Miller suggested granting more of them permanent residence (PR) status. 

🍁 What Happened
On May 10, the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) met in Montreal to plan immigration levels for 2025-2027. This entailed discussion on the economic and social benefits of immigration and the levels of permanent and temporary residents needed to match these outcomes.

As a result, provincial ministers proposed expanding immigration programs to help temporary foreign workers, international students, asylum claimants, and others to become PRs. Miller also noted the importance of integrating newcomers while addressing labour shortages. 

🤔 Why it’s Happening 
These proposals, among others, were made in response to ministers acknowledging temporary residents' contributions to Canada's economic growth, labour market, and cultural diversity. Ministers emphasized the need for a strategic data-driven approach to manage any reductions.

🇨🇦 Why it Matters
The aim of reducing temporary resident numbers is to control Canada’s exponential population growth, which is putting pressure on housing, health and other services. Many ministers warned this would require more demand for provincial immigration programs, and they pitched expanding their provincial programs as a win-win solution to permanently retaining people in Canada. Miller stated more could be done to also extend this concept to federal immigration programs.

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• Starting May 27, Express Entry candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades and other immigration programs must show higher settlement funds. The required amount has increased by 6.8% due to inflation. This change does not affect applicants with a valid job offer or those applying under the Canadian Experience Class.  Read more

• In protecting workers from exploitation, Canada imposed fines totalling $2.7 million on 194 employers last year for breaking Temporary Foreign Worker Program rules. Employers must meet strict obligations when hiring foreign workers, with non-compliant employers facing suspensions. Inspections ensure compliance and can result in penalties reaching $100,000 per violation. Read more

• Ontario faces a severe nursing shortage, with projected vacancies increasing from 6,000 in 2022 to 13,200 by 2024 and expected to reach 33,200 by 2032. Premier Doug Ford acknowledges the crisis and seeks ways to expedite recognition of internationally-trained nurses' credentials. Read more

• Canada faces criticism for not aligning international student intake with job market needs. Most foreign students study business, and few choose health or trades’ programs. Experts say this mismatch leads to poor job prospects for graduates and continued critical labour shortages. The government plans to address this issue by updating immigration policies to better meet labour market demands. Read more

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