Immigration

Three types of immigrants:

Family Class: To immigrate as a family class immigrant, you must be sponsored by a relative that lives in the country. This sponsor will make sure that you are well taken care of when you’re in Canada.

Economic Class: To immigrate as an economic immigrant, you would need to get a certain amount of points under the point system. Canada chooses immigrants that have a high education level or job experience so they can make a living in Canada on their own.

Refugee: To immigrate as a refugee, you would have to be able to prove that your life is in danger.

How are provincial governments able to influence and implement immigration policies?

Through provincial nomination programs, provinces are able to choose immigrants to come to their province. In addition, they allow provinces to nominate individuals that they believe would be a good fit for their province. The Quebec Accord is another way that a province will influence immigration. The accord guarantees that a certain percentage of immigrants will come to Quebec.

When creating a regulation that will determine annual immigration policies, provincial governments will often get a say in the process. Many provinces will also have special immigration agreements with the federal government. Quebec was the first province to do this with British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon later creating their own. These agreements are meant to work towards the specific immigration needs of each province.

How is the implementation of immigration policies in Québec an attempt to strengthen the French language in North America?

These policies require certain immigrants to immigrate to Quebec, which makes learning French desirable and encourages immigrants that come to Canada, to continue living in Quebec even after they are able to leave.

What is the relationship between immigration policies in Canada and the rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Immigration policies cover economics, the largest group of immigrants, selections are based on the person’s education level and job experience and how well they can speak or adapt to our languages. Family reunification, immigrant families/spouses/children can join family members that already live in Canada. Lastly, refugees, the smallest group of immigrants allowed each year in Canada. This correlates with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because they should always get mobility rights if they are a citizen or not.

To what extent does Canada benefit from immigration?

Immigration helps to increase Canada’s population; without immigrants, Canada’s population of 20-44 year-olds would go down each year. We are already facing shortages in career paths such as engineering and medicine. They work to improve our economy, as they have the third highest employment rate in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). More than 50 percent of the immigrants that come to Canada are highly educated. As well, immigrant entrepreneurs are more likely to innovate, invest in research and introduce new products to the market than Canadian-born citizens. It’s found that when immigration increases, job creation and the economy rises.