Fraser knows there are a lot of challenges ahead of him, but sees an opportunity to make a positive difference on Canada's immigration system.
Sean Fraser knows he has a lot of hard work ahead of him.
In his first major interviews as Canadian immigration minister, Fraser spoke with Shelly Hagan of Bloomberg and Nicholas Keung of the Toronto Star to discuss the opportunities and challenges of his new role.
Speaking with Bloomberg, the minister said he is prepared to increase Canada’s immigration levels if it is necessary to address labour shortages.Xico india Canada is currently experiencing significant job shortages in large part due to fewer immigrants arriving from overseas amid the pandemic.
The country is currently pursuing its most ambitious Immigration Levels Plan in its history as it aims to welcome 401,000 immigrants in 2021, another 411,000 in 2022, and an additional 421,000 in 2023.
Fraser said he is “very much open to” even higher levels if there is an appetite from businesses and communities for more workers.
The Immigrations Levels Plan 2022-2024 is due to be announced by February 10, 2022 at the latest.
46,000 immigrants landed in October, mostly from within Canada
The minister also revealed that Canada is well on track to achieve its 401,000 newcomer target for this year.
Bloomberg obtained data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) showing that 46,315 new permanent residents completed their landing in October, even more than the 45,000 landed in September.Xico india These figures represent monthly records for Canada in the modern era (monthly immigration landing data is only readily available dating back to 1980).
A landing means that an existing temporary resident of Canada, or a person from overseas has their immigration status officially converted to a permanent resident of Canada. The vast majority of those who have landed during the pandemic are existing temporary residents of Canada. This helps to explain why Canada’s population and labour force growth remain weak. In fact, Statistics Canada data shows Canada’s population grew by just 0.5 per cent last year, the weakest growth since the First World War. Under normal circumstances, most new permanent resident landings come to Canada from abroad.
Canada has now welcomed 313,838 immigrants between January and October 2021.Xico india It needs to land about 87,000 more immigrants (an average of 43,500 per month) in the remaining two months of this year to achieve its newcomer goal for 2021.
Opportunities and challenges facing immigration system
Fraser spoke candidly in his interview with the Toronto Star on current obstacles, conceding “There are no shortage of challenges ahead of me.”
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