Canadian Elections and the Immigration System

September 20 is the date for the Canadian elections. Indeed, it is going to define the immigration system for the following four years.

All major parties are exposing their impact on the Immigration system. This time, they are focusing on how to welcome them in the best way. 

It is well known Canadians are open to immigrants. As a result, the current Government raised the immigration numbers to welcome over 400.000 in the following years. 

So, what are the parties proposing about the immigration system? Here you will find a quick resume about their proposals.

Major Parties in The Canadian Elections

Liberal Party 

Justin Trudeau is the leader of the Liberal Party.  In terms of immigration, Trudeau promised to help up to 20,000 Afghans if he gets re-elected.  In the past, in 2015, Trudeau accepted more than 25,000 Syrian refugees and won the elections that year.

To keep supporting immigrants, he proposes making houses more affordable for first-time buyers, meaning for all newcomers.

Then, since the liberals run the Canadian Government, they raise the immigration levels every year. In fact, they recognized the importance of newcomers to reinforce the Canadian labour work and help recover the country’s economy. 

Further, during their years running the country, they have launched new pathways to support immigration: the Agri-Food Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and the Atlantic Immigration Pilot. They are waiting to see what is going to happen with these Canadian elections.

Conservative Party

They are centre-right, and they are the official opposition of the current Liberal Government. Their leader is Erin O’Toole. 

These Canadian elections, the conservative party propose a system that focuses on international talent, give refugee for human rights advocates and reunites families. 

Besides, the Conservative party is also interested in allowing candidates to pay a fee to expedite their process fast.  Likewise, the Conservatives propose a fairer system, with online operations and recording all interactions with officers and candidates. It would guarantee supervision and equity during the whole process.

On the other hand, they want applicants to have an immigration officer who knows and understands their culture. And, also, allow them to make corrections after submitting their application. Regarding the Parents and Grandparents Program, they want to launch a first-come, first-sever model. They propose to prioritize cases where applicants will provide child care or a family support service.

Finally, Conservatives want to facilitate family members of Canadians to live in the country for five years without needing a permanent status. In effect, it will help reunite family members ad even renew their stay if they want it. 

Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois is the Quebec nationalist party in this Canadian elections. In general, they wish Quebec to be a separate country from Canada. As a result, they only have candidates here. Since 2019, their leader has been Yves-François Blanchet. In terms of immigration, the party wants to speed up the processing times for candidates from Quebec. 

Quebec has an independent immigration system compared to other provinces across Canada. However, they wish they could also control the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to hire these workers easier.

Bloc Québécois also want all French-speaking refugees to settle in Quebec. And, they propose modifying the “Multiculturalism Act” given that it prevents immigrants from ingrate in Quebec society. Finally, they will offer tax credit credits for international graduates and immigrants who want to live outside the main cities.

New Democratic Party

They are considered left-wing, but they have never run the country. However, their leader Jagmeet Singh is one of the most popular candidates in this election. 

The NDP promises to speed up the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) and to work with each province to support their settlement services and foreigner recognition. Besides, they propose to give status to caregivers and their families. 

Finally, they want to end wage discrimination and guarantee pay equity for women. 

It is almost time to discover what is going to happen in the following Canadian elections, and see how the new Government will impact the Immigration system.