{"id":215973,"date":"2019-05-26T06:48:23","date_gmt":"2019-05-26T10:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=215973"},"modified":"2019-05-26T06:48:23","modified_gmt":"2019-05-26T10:48:23","slug":"canadas-2019-federal-election-how-could-it-affect-immigration-and-express-entry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/05\/26\/canadas-2019-federal-election-how-could-it-affect-immigration-and-express-entry\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s 2019 federal election: How could it affect immigration and Express Entry?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Under the Liberals, Canada\u2019s immigration policies have taken a direction that puts them in increasingly stark contrast to the current policies of the United States and many European countries. (Pixabay Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Canadians will head to the polls in October to elect a new federal government, which could bring changes to Canada\u2019s current immigration policies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s three major political parties \u2014 the governing Liberals, the Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party (NDP) \u2014 are all on the record as being in favour of economic immigration, but there are differences in their approach to the issue that could have an impact on immigration policy.<\/p>\n

Under the Liberals, Canada\u2019s immigration policies have taken a direction that puts them in increasingly stark contrast to the current policies of the United States and many European countries.<\/p>\n

Chief among their policies was the adoption of\u00a0increased immigration targets<\/a>\u00a0that would see Canada welcome more than one million new permanent residents by the end of 2021 and push the country\u2019s immigration rate to nearly one per cent of its population.<\/p>\n

True to their name, they have also liberalized immigration policy to\u00a0reduce the time<\/a>\u00a0it takes to get Canadian citizenship while\u00a0reforming medical inadmissibility rules<\/a>\u00a0and emphasizing family reunification, among other updates.<\/p>\n

In their four years in office, the Liberals have also introduced important changes to the\u00a0Express Entry system<\/a>,\u00a0which manages the pool of candidates for three of Canada\u2019s main economic immigration categories \u2014 \u00a0Federal Skilled Worker Class<\/a>,\u00a0Federal Skilled Trades Class<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Canadian Experience Class<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since taking power in late 2015, the Liberals have overseen a dramatic increase in the number of\u00a0invitations to apply<\/a>for Canadian permanent residence, or ITAs, issued through the Express Entry system \u2014 from 33,782 in 2016 to 86,023 in 2017 and 89,800 in 2018.<\/p>\n

The Liberals have also introduced significant changes to\u00a0Comprehensive Ranking System<\/a>\u00a0(CRS) that determines a candidate\u2019s position in the Express Entry pool, namely the\u00a0reduction of additional points<\/a>\u00a0awarded for a job offer.<\/p>\n

While a job offer is not required in order to be eligible under Express Entry, the Conservatives\u2019 original CRS rewarded candidates with a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-backed job offer with an additional\u00a0600 CRS points<\/b>\u00a0\u2014 effectively guaranteeing an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence regardless of their core CRS score.<\/p>\n

Critics, however, said this approach favoured low-skilled, low-wage labour at the expense of candidates with greater earning potential who would ultimately provide greater economic benefit to Canada.<\/p>\n

In late 2016, the Liberals acted on these concerns and reduced the points awarded for a job offer to a maximum of 200.<\/p>\n

This has benefited candidates with higher human capital scores, which include age, proficiency in English and French, education, and skilled work experience. Combined, they provide what is known as a candidate\u2019s core CRS score, which can reach a maximum of 600 points.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Arranged Employment additional points are now balanced with the core CRS, which means that candidates with a qualifying arranged employment need a sufficiently high core CRS to receive an invitation,\u201d Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) noted in its\u00a0Express Entry year-end report for 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The report showed that invitations to Federal Skilled Worker Class candidates\u00a0jumped by nearly 400 per cent\u00a0in 2017 thanks to the Liberals\u2019 targeted changes to the CRS.<\/p>\n

IRCC also reported that lowering the points awarded for a job offer was having a \u201csignificant impact on the occupation mix of candidates that received an invitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, cooks and food service supervisors figured among the top five occupations of candidates invited through Express Entry that year. In 2017, they lost their fourth and fifth place rankings to financial auditors and accountants and administrative assistants and dropped to 28th and 14th, respectively.<\/p>\n

Conservatives<\/b><\/h3>\n

If the Conservatives win in October \u2014\u00a0CBC\u2019s Poll Tracker<\/a>\u00a0currently gives them a six-point lead over the Liberals \u2014 changes to Canada\u2019s immigration policy are possible.<\/p>\n

While they have yet to provide a more extensive outline of their immigration platform, the Conservatives say they are for a\u00a0\u201cfair, orderly and compassionate\u201d immigration system that would emphasize both an immigrant\u2019s ability to become self-sufficient and Canada\u2019s labour market needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would directly link the number and skills of people seeking to enter Canada for economic reasons to the needs of the Canadian economy,\u201d Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel told reporters earlier this month.<\/p>\n

This emphasis on economic immigration was central to Conservative immigration policy when they governed Canada between 2006 and 2015 and resulted in their introduction of the Express Entry system in 2015.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives have not said whether they would change the Express Entry CRS or the overall immigration targets set by the Liberals.<\/p>\n

Rempel, however, has been critical of the Liberals\u2019 approach to setting the targets, which she compared to an auction.<\/p>\n

Rempel said immigration targets had to be rooted in policy and the product of a process.<\/p>\n

NDP<\/b><\/h3>\n

Canada\u2019s third major political party, the NDP, is a left-of-centre party that is best known for spearheading the push for universal health care for all Canadians.<\/p>\n

While the NDP has never formed the government, they could hold the balance of power in a minority government and thereby contribute to the shaping of immigration policy.<\/p>\n

The NDP has yet to detail its approach to immigration policy, but the party\u2019s views on immigration typically emphasize compassion for immigrants and favourable positions on issues like family reunification.<\/p>\n

Green Party<\/h3>\n

Though it only holds two seats in Canada\u2019s Parliament, recent electoral gains by the Green Party of Canada could make it a surprise contender in October.<\/p>\n

The party\u2019s 16\u00a0policy priorities on immigration<\/a>\u00a0are predicated on the idea that Canada is \u201ca just, fair, and open country\u201d and the belief that new Canadians \u201care a source of incredible skills and potential for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other policies, the Green Party says it would establish \u201crealistic criteria for immigrants based on existing job opportunities for immigrants to Canada\u201d and take action to \u201celiminate the valuation of foreign credentials for immigration purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Greens would also press professional societies to remove unnecessary barriers to recognizing professional credentials and ensure professionals have licensing requirements for their professions \u201cclearly explained\u201d before entry.<\/p>\n

Canada has emerged as a leader on immigration over the last four years, a position that is\u00a0gaining recognition<\/a>\u00a0the world over.<\/p>\n

From the Express Entry system to its network of\u00a0provincial nominee programs<\/a>, Canada\u2019s immigration system has broken multiple records and\u00a0is set to achieve new ones<\/a>\u00a0over the next three years.<\/p>\n

While immigration may factor into the fall election, it is not likely to take on the tone of elections in the United States and other Western countries given all three of Canada\u2019s major federal political parties describe themselves as pro-immigration.<\/p>\n

Mounting labour shortages across the country and\u00a0broad public support<\/a>\u00a0for the economic benefits of immigration mean this position is likely to be maintained.<\/p>\n

The big question is how?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is refreshing to see all the major parties voicing favourable views on immigration, though we\u2019ve yet to see some important details as to their policies and positions,\u201d said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell, Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cCandidates who are eligible under the current system may want to act quickly in order to maximize their chances of obtaining permanent residence before changes occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2019 CICNews All Rights Reserved<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canadians will head to the polls in October to elect a new federal government, which could bring changes to Canada\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":181829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-immigration","mauthors-stephen-smith","mauthors-noah-turner","mauthors-cic-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215974,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215973\/revisions\/215974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}