Canadian Immigration News

The Government of Canada will keep Canada's immigration levels the same next year, for 2011. The government says its goal is to take in between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents next year—the same target as for 2009 and 2010. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says, "Canada's post-recession economy demands a high level of legal immigration to keep our workforce strong.”

The Government of Canada has extended the Iraqi refugee program for an additional two years. Between 2011 and 2013, the Iraqi refugee program will allow an additional 8,600 refugees to resettle in Canada. This extension was announced on Saturday by Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

This week is Canada's Citizenship Week 2010. It is a time for Canadians to reflect on what it means to be Canadian, and on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. In 2009 alone, more than 155,000 newcomers to Canada became Canadian citizens, embracing the Canadian values of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law.

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan recorded the highest employment numbers ever for the month of September. Overall, there 6,300 more jobs in the province compared to one year ago. "People are coming to Saskatchewan because they are confident in our economy and that prospects here are very good," said Rob Norris, Minster of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration.

The government of Canada is considering ways to prevent migrant smuggling because of the arrival in August this year of a ship with almost 500 Sri Lankan asylum seekers on board; however, the Canadian refugee determination process was designed to deal with people seeking asylum by landing on Canada's shores, fleeing for their lives.

In the last year, almost 50% of population growth in the province of Saskatchewan can be attributed to immigration. Statistics Canada is showing a record-breaking increase in Saskatchewan’s population, which now sits at just under 1,050,000. Saskatchewan's increase rate (+0.47%) was the second highest among all the Canadian provinces. It was Saskatchewan largest growth in population since the third quarter of 2007.

The Government of Canada announced yesterday it is launching the Federal Internship for Newcomers program designed to assist newcomers gain valuable Canadian work experience. Through this program, immigrants to Canada now have the opportunity to acquire some temporary work experience in fields they are qualified to work in based on their skills and previous work experience.

Ontario is helping skilled newcomers prepare to get jobs that match their education, qualifications and experience. The Ontario provincial government is investing $3.6 million in three Ontario cities to support programs designed to train new skilled immigrants to find employment in their professions and areas of expertise.

Canada intends to work domestically and internationally to eliminate the crime and fraud associated with the often dangerous journey some immigrants make to Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney met earlier this week with the Australian Minister of Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen, to talk about potential solutions to address the problem of migrant smuggling and human trafficking.