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Emigration and immigration

Premiers' Request to Expand Provincial Nominee Programs Met with Skepticism

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

After years of struggling to fix its immigration system, the Canadian government is being asked by the premiers to increase the number of provincial nominees - economic immigrants chosen by the provinces. However, this proposal is being met with skepticism by experts who warn that it will only make the system worse. The premiers' request comes after the federal government took steps to repair the damage caused by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's immigration policies, which led to a boom in foreign students and temporary workers and balkanized the rules for economic migrants.

Key Takeaways:

  • The premiers are asking the federal government to double the number of provincial nominees, which experts warn will lead to a repeat of the problems caused by the previous economic-immigration system.
  • The current system is criticized for being incoherent and dysfunctional, with rules that favor certain types of workers over others based on arbitrary criteria.
  • Economics professor Mikal Skuterud notes that there is no way to restrict the mobility of immigrants, and that the premiers' approach of recruiting foreigners to fill current job openings is a failed approach.
  • The premiers' own justification for asking for bigger numbers of provincial nominees - that they know their own labour markets better - is itself a good reason to reject their request.
  • Canada's economic immigration system turned to a different approach almost 25 years ago to focus on human capital, granting points for criteria such as education, experience, and language skills.
  • The system was mucked up by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, which introduced new categories that gave more points to certain types of workers who didn't meet the points standards, including hairdressers and estheticians.
  • Quebec has had powers to select immigrants since the 1970s, intended to preserve its language and culture, but other provinces have made agreements with Ottawa for nominee programs with lower criteria.
  • The system has become a hodgepodge of programs built on the desires of lobby groups, making it look random to potential immigrants.
  • Foreign students or temporary workers might become eligible for permanent residence under a new category or provincial program, encouraging them to take a gamble on coming to Canada.

Statistics:

  • Since 2001, other provinces have made agreements with Ottawa for nominee programs.
  • The previous government introduced new categories that gave more points to certain types of workers who didn't meet the points standards.
  • Quebec has had powers to select immigrants since the 1970s.
  • Canada's economic immigration system has been using a points system for almost 25 years.

Sources:

  • [The Globe and Mail: After years of messing up the immigration system, Canada shouldn't give premiers more room to make it worse (author: Campbell Clark)]
  • [Waterloo University economics professor Mikal Skuterud]
  • [Government of Canada: Immigration to Canada]
  • [Government of Quebec: Immigration to Quebec]
  • [Ottawa Citizen: Ottawa should reject premiers' request to increase number of provincial nominees, expert says]

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