GOVERNMENT UPDATE SUMMARY:

In May 2022, Private Member’s Motion M-44 was passed in the House of Commons, asking for ways to expand Canadian economic immigration.

In response, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada Sean Fraser, has recently introduced strategy focusing on the transition to permanent residency. This action plan is not as specific as many anticipated, but it gives us a better understanding of the Canadian Immigration direction.

The following five pillars summarize the government’s strategy:

Pillar 1 – Increased Canadian Immigration Levels Targets

The 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan aims for the highest number of workers to transition from temporary to permanent residence we have ever seen. This target should be reached by increasing opportunities for more temporary workers. Higher immigration levels also help addressing labour market needs and boosting Canadian economic growth.

Pillar 2 – The Express Entry System Reform

Recent changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allow the Minister to respond to the labour market needs accurately, even on regional levels. Express Entry system flexibility is increasing, and in the near future, candidates can be selected based on specific attributes, such as educational credentials, work experience or language skills.

The Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) criteria will undergo a review, specifically the points allocation for:

• Canadian work experience and education;
• language proficiency;
• and a job offer.

Next version of Express Entry includes more transition opportunities to permanent residence for workers at all skill levels.

Pillar 3 – Permanent Economic Immigration Programs and Pilots

The action points below are going to enhance the transition from temporary to permanent residence through the permanent programs as well as pilots:

• Implementing the latest version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021;
• Improving newcomers’ access to information;
• Exploring better ways to transition essential workers who are in high demand;
• Updating the pilot programs.

Pillar 4 – Canadian Communities Support

Temporary residents are mainly settling in major Canadian cities. Therefore, the government is looking for ways on how to promote immigration to smaller communities and rural areas. The authorities are currently developing new Municipal Nominee Program, to tackle local labour needs. The government also focuses on Francophone immigration outside of Quebec, to uphold the bilingual nature of Canada.

Pillar 5 – Processing Capacity Increase

The immigration authorities are constantly increasing their capacity, also thanks to the immigration system modernization. These upgrades should positively impact the immigration applications processing times, and help welcoming new Canadian permanent residents as quickly as possible.

Should we expect another TR2PR?

Temporary residence to Permanent Residence pathway, “TR2PR”, is a buzzword we’ve heard many times since spring 2021. Through this temporary public policy, Canadian temporary residents applied for permanent residence through several new streams. This policy closed in November 2021.

There have been speculations whether a similar program launches again or not. This action plan has not uncovered any closer specifics for a brand new program similar to TR2PR, but we are monitoring this topic closely and bring you updates as the situation evolves.

Published on September 22, 2022

SOURCE: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/pdf/english/media/m44-eng.pdf