• Posted 16-Nov-2020

Temporary residents in Canada to benefit from more immigration openings from the Canadian government

The Canadian Immigration Minister, Marco Mendicino has revealed to Bloomberg that there will be more opportunities for foreign workers, international students as well as asylum seekers to get permanent residency. This was coming in the light of the announcement by the Canadian government that in the next three years, the country would process more than 400,000 immigration applications.

Mr. Mendicino went further to state that the Canadian government would soon release an official statement on this note. The Minister said that there is a need for these group of immigrants to be granted permanent residency owing to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian economy. According to the Minister, the labour force, population and economic growth has recorded a very slow growth due to the border closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that the temporary migrants who do not possess permanent residency would have to return back once their visa expires and that will not be favourable for the economy and general growth of Canada.

The Minister further revealed that the migration statistics for both permanent and temporary residents have been on a 60% decrease year after year as presented by an official government data. Canada has planned to welcome over 340,000 permanent residents before the COVID-19 pandemic but so far, it has been able to process only about 200,000 permanent resident applications.

The Minister informed Bloomberg that the high death rate as well as low birth rate should make it necessary for the government to create more immigration opportunities to move from temporary to permanent residents. According to the Mendicino, there are a lot of temporary residents that possess skills and talents relevant for the growth of the Canadian economy. The government should look more at students who have the age, time and energy, the Minister explained.

This initiative yet to be announced by the government seems to be a step towards the right direction not just because of the fact that it will hugely benefit the economy but because it will improve Canadian market as immigrants who have studied, worked, grown professional and social networks around Canada.

The Minister did not expressly reveal the exact changes that the Canadian government will propose but from his conversation with Bloomberg, one or more of the following could be deciphered as the plans of the Canadian government –

• Creation of pilot programs by the government
• Holding draws for express entry into various programs
• Allowing for a modified Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to allow for more points needed  to achieve a Canadian experience
• Adjusting the eligibility criteria for federal government programs