Youssif: Canada has a hidden asylum-policy problem

2026/02/18 Leave a comment

Another example of a broken system?

…As I document in a new study for the C.D. Howe Institute, this policy is problematic. Not all asylum claims are truthful, and documents may be forged. But this is impossible to detect without asking questions. The asylum hearing also serves as a screen for national security and program integrity risk, and must be halted if red flags emerge during questioning to allow the relevant minister to be notified. That mechanism cannot be engaged if claimants are never questioned.

More broadly, the IRB’s recognition rate for asylum claims has climbed to 80 per cent of claims decided on their merits, excluding files summarily closed where the claim was withdrawn or abandoned. In comparison, in 2024 Ireland accepted 30 per cent of claims on the merits, Sweden 40 per cent, and Germany 59 per cent. Research suggests that acceptance rates are a significant factor in asylum seekers’ choice of a destination country.

It is difficult to isolate the effect of any single policy change on the level of new claims, given multiple factors such as rising global migration pressures and changes to temporary immigration policies. That said, it is worth noting that the number of new asylum claims in Canada has increased since the IRB began rapidly accepting claims. A backlog of 17,000 claims in 2016 has grown to nearly 300,000 in 2025. Policies such as File Review, intended to reduce the backlog, have not only failed to do so, but may have reinforced perceptions of speed, success, and reduced scrutiny, signalling to the world that Canada’s asylum system is easy.

How was it possible for an adjudicative tribunal to implement a policy that dispenses with the act of adjudication?

Perhaps part of the answer is that the institution cannot be seen clearly. Its unique status and structure have rendered it opaque to the rest of government, which otherwise might have corrected an overreach. It may be time to rethink this model and consider options that provide ministers and cabinet with direct visibility and policy oversight, while preserving fair and independent adjudication.

James Yousif is a lawyer, former director of policy at IRCC and former member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

Source: Canada has a hidden asylum-policy problem

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Immigration: Vers une campagne électorale agitée

2026/02/17 Leave a comment

Not going to be a “vivre ensemble” campaign:

…Mais surtout, politiquement, le chef du PQ risque de se retrouver du mauvais côté du débat public. Vendredi, les porte-parole de plus d’une vingtaine d’organismes de la société civile, des municipalités aux syndicats en passant par les employeurs, les institutions d’enseignement et les producteurs agricoles, ont tenu une conférence de presse.

Tous demandent la même chose. Qu’on ne renvoie pas ailleurs dans le monde des immigrants que le Québec a choisis : des francophones, déjà établis, bien intégrés, et qui, le plus souvent, ont des compétences recherchées, ici et maintenant.

En fait, si certains de nos politiciens font le mauvais choix, c’est beaucoup à cause de vieux réflexes populistes qui sont aujourd’hui dépassés. Ils ont encore de vieilles croyances et voient les immigrants comme des « voleurs de jobs ».

Mais tant les pénuries de main-d’œuvre que le vieillissement de la population sont des phénomènes qu’on ne peut plus ignorer. Il faut aussi dire que certaines perceptions ont beaucoup changé depuis la pandémie, quand notre système de santé a été tenu à bout de bras par ceux qu’on a appelés nos « anges gardiens ».

Par ailleurs, même la question du danger pour l’avenir du français tient de moins en moins la route. Aujourd’hui, parmi les immigrants que le Québec a choisis, ils sont plus de 80 % à parler français avant même d’arriver chez nous.

Alors pourquoi deux de nos partis politiques, la CAQ et le PQ, s’enferment-ils encore dans un discours aussi inquiet – quand ce n’est pas carrément hostile – envers l’immigration ?

Mauvais instincts de la part de la CAQ, certainement. D’ailleurs, le premier ministre a un discours nettement différent de celui de ses collègues plus jeunes. Chose certaine, il n’y a plus personne pour reprendre le mantra de la CAQ quand elle est arrivée au pouvoir : « En prendre moins, mais en prendre soin ».

Au PQ, on choisit plutôt les experts ou les conseillers qui disent ce que l’on veut entendre, en particulier sur la crise du logement, que l’on attribue presque exclusivement à l’immigration.

Mais c’est faire exception de nouveaux phénomènes comme les « rénovictions », les logements offerts sur des plateformes comme Airbnb et la mauvaise performance historique du Québec quant à la construction de nouveaux logements, surtout quand on le compare au reste du Canada.

Rien de tout cela n’annonce une campagne électorale positive sur un enjeu comme l’immigration, qui exige précisément qu’on en discute dans une certaine sérénité.

Source: Immigration: Vers une campagne électorale agitée

… But above all, politically, the leader of the PQ may find himself on the wrong side of the public debate. On Friday, spokespersons for more than twenty civil society organizations, from municipalities to unions to employers, educational institutions and agricultural producers, held a press conference.

They all ask for the same thing. That we do not send elsewhere in the world of immigrants that Quebec has chosen: Francophones, already established, well integrated, and who, most often, have skills sought after, here and now.

In fact, if some of our politicians make the wrong choice, it is much because of old populist reflexes that are now outdated. They still have old beliefs and see immigrants as “job thieves”.

But both labor shortages and an aging population are phenomena that can no longer be ignored. It must also be said that some perceptions have changed a lot since the pandemic, when our health system was held at arm’s length by those we called our “guardian angels”.

Moreover, even the question of the danger to the future of the Frenchman holds less and less. Today, among the immigrants that Quebec has chosen, more than 80% speak French before they even arrive at home.

So why do two of our political parties, the CAQ and the PQ, still lock themselves in such a worried speech – when it is not downright hostile – towards immigration?

Bad instincts on the part of the CAQ, certainly. Moreover, the Prime Minister has a very different speech from that of his younger colleagues. One thing is certain, there is no one left to take up the mantra of the CAQ when it came to power: “Take less, but take care of it”.

In the PQ, we choose instead the experts or advisors who say what we want to hear, especially on the housing crisis, which is attributed almost exclusively to immigration.

But this is an exception to new phenomena such as “renovations”, housing offered on platforms such as Airbnb and Quebec’s poor historical performance in the construction of new housing, especially when compared to the rest of Canada.

None of this announces a positive election campaign on an issue such as immigration, which precisely requires that it be discussed with a certain serenity.

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People from African, Caribbean countries face harsher treatment by immigration system, study finds

2026/02/17 Leave a comment

Think this study needs more context in understanding the differences as some of this may reflect valid risk factors:

…CBSA data cited in the report and obtained by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch under freedom-of-information laws show that in 2019, the majority of detainees held for a month or longer were from African and Caribbean countries. 

Publicly available data from the CBSA and the Immigration and Refugee Board indicate that the overall number of people held in immigration detention, as well as the length of their detention, has declined in recent years: the vast majority of detainees are released within 30 days, the study notes.

However, over the past decade, nearly 60,000 people – including hundreds of children – have been placed in immigration detention, the study’s analysis of Canada Border Services Agency data found.

The CBSA can detain non-citizens, including permanent residents and foreign nationals, who are believed to be inadmissible to Canada. The factors the border agency considers include whether the person may pose a public-safety risk or is a possible flight risk.

Over that past decade, fewer than 10 per cent of immigration detainees were arrested because they were deemed a danger to the public or because of serious criminality, the data show. 

The same proportion were held because of questions about their identity documents or because a border agent needed more information to complete an immigration examination.

The vast majority – around 80 per cent – were held because border agents deemed them unlikely to appear at future immigration proceedings. 

Source: People from African, Caribbean countries face harsher treatment by immigration system, study finds

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Opinion | Canada’s working-age population is shrinking. Should we keep immigration near zero or rethink the plan?

2026/02/16 2 Comments

Good discussion (I lean towards the BMO assessment):

In this Bridging the Divide conversation, Robert Kavcic, senior economist and director of economics at BMO Capital Markets, argues the slowdown is a responsible course correction. Lisa Lalande, CEO of the Century Initiative, warns that pulling back from population growth without a strategy risks weakening Canada’s long-term prosperity and global standing.

Robert Kavcic: We are in a period of adjustment. Population growth accelerated to three per cent in 2022 and 2023, placing a strain on housing, rental affordability, health care, public services and youth employment. I believe the government’s short-term immigration targets, which will keep population growth just above zero through 2028, are a reasonable and necessary correction.

Lisa Lalande: Population growth itself isn’t the problem. Growth without a plan is. Canada’s working-age population is shrinking, a shift that poses long-term risks to economic growth and public services. The pullback in immigration is too severe and has not been replaced with a national plan.

Kavcic: Immigration levels need to align with Canada’s capacity to provide housing, health care and essential services. If there is one thing that the last couple of years have taught us, it’s that population can grow very quickly. Every person who comes to Canada needs a place to live immediately. They need a doctor. They need services.

But it takes years to build adequate housing and services. So, maintaining a steady and predictable pace of immigration is very important.

Lalande: I don’t disagree, but zero population growth is bad for the economy. While urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary continue to attract newcomers, many small towns and rural areas are experiencing sustained population decline. Provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador are projected to lose up to 10 per cent of their population by 2043. 

Municipalities have fixed costs, such as water treatment plants, but those costs are spread among fewer people as residents retire or pass away. Affordability will worsen without a national population plan that considers aging and health care.

Kavcic: Another concern is the quality of immigration. We cannot bring in people simply to meet numerical targets if they are not improving per capita economic growth. We need to recruit workers in industries where shortages exist.

But even when we recruit needed workers, such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters for residential construction, they still need a place to live. In that sense, adding workers to build homes can increase pressure on the housing market in the short term because they need housing before they can add to overall output.

Lalande: I agree that we need to have more housing. But the debate of the past two years oversimplified the issue by blaming immigration for the housing crisis. We know from Statistics Canada research that immigration accounted for only about 11 per cent of the rise in median house values and rents across municipalities.

We need to recognize that we need population growth. We have shortages in many areas. In health care, we need to double the number of personal support workers by 2032 to accommodate our aging population. Without population growth, ER wait times will grow and smaller communities will lose access to care.

Kavcic: I don’t think we’re far apart on this. The market speaks pretty clearly about where the balance is. For most of the period after the 2008 financial crisis through the pandemic, housing affordability was not a major issue in Canada. Prices were rising, incomes were rising and interest rates were falling. The market was mostly balanced. The rental market was relatively stable, and population growth averaged about one per cent.

What changed between 2021 and 2023 when population growth tripled was extreme stress in the rental market. Once population caps were introduced in 2024, the rental market peaked and began to cool. As population growth slowed, rents started falling in most major Canadian cities and vacancy rates rose.

This is a strong indication that Canada cannot sustain three per cent population growth. A rate closer to one per cent appears to be what the country can manage — and likely what it needs.

Lalande: I agree there was pressure on the rental market. But we need to address the housing crisis with greater urgency. Housing should not prevent us from bringing a doctor or nurse into a community that needs one.

Population growth also needs to be part of our national security conversation. For the country to remain strong, independent and sovereign, we need a growth-oriented mindset, with smart policy choices, innovation and responsible population planning. If Canada wants to rebuild its defence capacity, secure the Arctic, strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on allies, that will require people, talent and a healthy tax base to fund major investments.

Kavcic: I agree there is an important role for a well-managed and robust immigration program in Canada. I worry public sentiment is turning against immigration, even though the country will need strong immigration over the long term. That concern may be one reason policymakers moved quickly to reduce immigration levels, to prevent opposition from becoming entrenched.

Lalande: It was a drastic pullback, a political decision rather than a smart policy one, and the consequences are now being felt. Consider the revenue impact on our post-secondary education system, which has fewer foreign students. We are also losing our competitiveness against other countries for the world’s best and brightest.

When you dig into national polling, most Canadians still see the value of immigration. Environics Institute research shows three-quarters say immigrants make their communities better or have no net effect, while only 15 per cent believe newcomers make them worse.

We are facing a looming population cliff. Canada’s demographic outlook is shaped by three forces: an aging population; declining fertility rate; and immigration. Research shows there is only one way to meaningfully influence this trajectory: immigration. Policy should focus on whether immigration serves Canada’s interests within a coherent national strategy.

Kavcic: I think the population targets the federal government is using now are about right. Imposing temporary limits on growth for two or three years is reasonable, given how much population growth was compressed into a short period.

It will likely take two or three years of near-zero growth to bring the long-term trend back to the pace seen before inflows of non-permanent residents such as temporary foreign workers and international students surged. The projected changes from 2026 to 2028 are driven by scaling back flows of these non-permanent-residents to previous. The targets for permanent residents (people granted the right to live, work and study in Canada indefinitely) remain about 380,000 annually

 Lalande: We need to look beyond the next year or two and assess the impact over four, 10, even 30 years. Countries with long-term plans are more likely to succeed and safeguard their independence.

Kavcic: I agree that, over the long term, Canada faces a serious demographic challenge. The baby boom generation is aging into retirement, and the country is nearing a period of negative natural population growth. By 2028, for the first time, more people are expected to die than be born in Canada.

I do not dispute that we need a strong immigration program. We do. The issue is the numbers and the quality of immigration.

Lalande: I see more urgency around the need to plan with a long-term perspective, not anchor the conversation only in numbers and quality.

The focus should be on understanding what communities need. It should be on responding to those needs and supporting people once they are here. Only then can the country grow in a sustainable way into the future.

Source: Opinion | Canada’s working-age population is shrinking. Should we keep immigration near zero or rethink the plan?

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Rempel Garner: Immigration intakes don’t account for the impact of AI. They should.

2026/02/16 Leave a comment

Agree that there needs to be greater consideration of immigration levels and skills in the context of AI and automation in general. Arguably, the current approach, even with recent reductions, understates the potential impact and the associated issue that current policies provide disincentives for companies to invest in AI and automation.

While I still write my posts, and do my number crunching myself, am increasingly using AI for proofreading, excel/numbers formulas and basic research for references. I am also currently exploring AI to generate my personal newsfeed rather than combing individual websites:

…But there’s something else that should be driving the Liberal government to pump the brakes on high levels of new temporary foreign labour and get a handle on expired-visa removals: the potential impact of artificial intelligence on Canada’s jobs market.

If you spent any time on X this week, you would have encountered AI entrepreneur Matt Schumer’s extra-mega viral article entitled “Something Big Is Happening”. Hype or not, Schumer’s article, which warned that many entry level white collar jobs are about to be replaced by AI, struck a chord. That’s probably because most people now have lived experience with AI changing or replacing major parts of their work.

There’s empirical proof of this trend now, too. Stories of law firms choosing to hire fewer new associates in favour of leaning on AI are starting to pop up. Accountancy giant PwC plans to hire a third fewer new grads by 2028. Entry-level hiring at the 15 biggest tech firms dropped 25% from 2023-2024. In Canada, this AI work disruption is coming at a time when the country’s economy is already brittle. Over the past decade, Canada’s per capita GDP has been on a rather steep decline, and the youth unemployment rate is double the national average.

Said differently, there are less jobs for Canadian workers due to an already-weak economy, an overabundance of low-skilled foreign labour, and AI is now disrupting the jobs market even further.

Capturing the spirit of this concern was known-to-senior-Canadian-Liberals Ian Bremmer, President of the global consultancy Eurasia Group, who tweeted: “The fact that this [the replacement of white-collar jobs with AI] is even remotely plausible should be the top issue on most everyone’s agenda.” I’ve shared the same view since the moment I first used ChatGPT in late 2022. My immediate thought was, “My God, they’re going to automate human thought, just as they automated human labour.” A few days later, I became the first legislator in Canada to raise the issue in the House of Commons. And Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada stated in a recent speech that, “Not surprisingly, we are seeing increased demand for workers with AI skills. The flip side is we may be seeing some early evidence that AI is reducing the number of entry-level jobs in some occupations.”

Unfortunately, in spite of these warning signs, there is no evidence that the federal Liberals have factored in the possibility of artificial intelligence disrupting entry-level jobs into their immigration levels plan during the middle of an existing economic downturn. If they had, they probably wouldn’t have quietly lifted a freeze on the permitting process to bring new low-skilled temporary foreign workers to several major cities across Canada last month….

Source: Immigration intakes don’t account for the impact of AI. They should.

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Ontario lifts tuition freeze, unveils OSAP reforms as it boosts university and college funding. Here’s what it will mean for schools and students

2026/02/14 Leave a comment

Partially correcting a problem that they created and was forced by federal government correctly cutting back on the excessive growth in international students, particularly in colleges:

Colleges and universities are getting more funding — an additional $6.4 billion over the next four years — and will be able to charge students slightly higher tuition rates, as the province’s longstanding fee freeze comes to an end. 

The government’s Thursday announcement was based on months of consultations and warnings from the post-secondary sector that stagnant funding from the province — combined with the seven-year ban on tuition hikes and massive cuts to international students imposed by Ottawa — left them on the financial brink.

Schools will now be able to raise fees by two per cent each year for the next three years, with future increases tied to inflation or two per cent, whichever is less. That means university students will pay roughly $170 more a year and college students $66 — which, combined with a move away from non-repayable student aid grants, has critics raising concerns about affordability. …

Source: Ontario lifts tuition freeze, unveils OSAP reforms as it boosts university and college funding. Here’s what it will mean for schools and students

Good commentary by Regg Cohn:

…Belatedly — better late than never — Ford’s Progressive Conservative government is stepping up to shore up postsecondary education. On Thursday it announced a $6.4-billion cash infusion over the next four years to make up for the last seven years of cuts, freezes and shortfalls since Ford took power.

Back in 2019, the premier played Santa Claus by imposing a 10-per-cent tuition cut, but then played Scrooge by freezing those rates in place without making up for the lost cash flow. Instead, the government urged postsecondary institutions to recruit and rely on high-paying foreign students to shore up their balance sheets, which stoked immigration imbalances that ultimately forced Ottawa to scale back student visas.

Those political and fiscal miscalculations created a perfect storm in postsecondary education: Funding shortfalls; tuition cuts frozen in time despite an inflationary spiral; and the sudden loss of foreign windfalls that kept campuses afloat.

None of it added up, least of all the tuition freeze enacted by a populist premier who wouldn’t pony up his share of the funding pie.

Regg Cohn | Doug Ford has learned a hard lesson after starving Ontario’s colleges and universities


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PBO: Projecting the Cost of the Interim Federal Health Program 

2026/02/14 2 Comments

Informative PBO Report:

Highlights

  • The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides limited and temporary healthcare coverage to some groups of foreign nationals who are not eligible for health insurance from provinces or territories.
  • PBO estimates that total IFHP costs will reach almost $1.0 billion in 2025‑26 and rise to over $1.5 billion by 2029‑30. PBO projects that annual growth in IFHP costs will average well below the average growth observed over the past five years, reflecting both a moderated increase in the number of beneficiaries and a more gradual rise in average annual costs.
  • Budget 2025 indicated that a “modest co-payment model” will be introduced to the Interim Federal Health Program for supplemental health products or services. This change to the program is not reflected in our projection. Including this new measure would reduce our estimate of the total cost for the IFHP program.

Summary

The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides “limited and temporary healthcare coverage to some groups of foreign nationals who are vulnerable and disadvantaged, and who are not eligible for health insurance from provinces or territories.”

Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the cost of the program grew from $211 million to $896 million as both the number of beneficiaries and the cost per beneficiary increased significantly. PBO estimates that total IFHP costs will reach almost $1.0 billion in 2025‑26 and rise to over $1.5 billion by 2029‑30 (Table S-1).Table S-1Projected IFHP cost, millions of dollars

2025­-262026­-272027­-282028­-292029­-30
Total cost9891,1041,2321,3761,522

We project that average annual growth for IFHP costs will be 11.2 per cent between 2025‑26 and 2029‑30, well below the 33.7 per cent average growth observed over the past five years. This slower growth reflects both a moderated increase in the number of beneficiaries and a more gradual rise in average annual costs.

Budget 2025 indicated that a “modest co-payment model” will be introduced to the Interim Federal Health Program for supplemental health products or services. This change to the program is not reflected in our projection. Including this new measure would reduce our estimate of the total cost for the IFHP program.

Source: Projecting the Cost of the Interim Federal Health Program

Toronto Sun commentary: LILLEY: False asylum claims drive refugee health-care program toward $1B price tag

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USA: Black Immigrant Population Diversifies Beyond its Historically Caribbean and Latin American Origins, New Fact Sheet Shows

2026/02/14 Leave a comment

As is the case in Canada with respect to Caribbean origins:

Long dominated by arrivals from the Caribbean, the Black immigrant population in the United States is now nearly evenly split between immigrants from Africa and those from Latin America and the Caribbean. This demographic shift has implications for communities, labor markets and immigration policy nationwide, a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) fact sheet notes. 

Drawing on analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the fact sheet finds that the Black immigrant population, which stood at nearly 4.7 million people as of 2024, has strong workforce participation and English language proficiency, as well as similar educational attainment as the U.S.-born and overall immigrant populations. Eighty-one percent of all Black immigrants have become U.S. citizens or are lawful permanent residents (green-card holders), with another 3 percent holding a long-term temporary visa. 

The fact sheet, A Profile of the Growing Black Immigrant Population in the United States, provides findings on population trends, top U.S. destinations, workforce participation, education, language skills, immigration status and household characteristics. 

Black immigrants account for 9 percent of all immigrants in the United States and 11 percent of the overall U.S. Black population (with the population covering anyone self-identifying as Black or African American, alone or in combination with any other race/ethnicity option in the Census survey). 

These immigrants are concentrated in a number of major metropolitan areas, including New York, Miami, Washington, DC and Atlanta. Caribbean immigrants are especially concentrated in New York and Florida, while African immigrants are more widely dispersed across states such as Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Washington and Colorado. 

Nearly one in five Black children in the United States has at least one immigrant parent, and the vast majority of these children are U.S. citizens. Of Black immigrant children under 18 years old, about 6 out of 10 were born in Africa, reflecting the growing number arriving from Africa relative to those of Caribbean and Latin American origin. 

Among the fact sheet’s key findings: 

  • The 4,685,000 million Black immigrants in the country as of 2024 are almost evenly divided between origins in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. The top five origin countries are Jamaica, Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Ghana. 
  • While Black immigrants represent just 9 percent of all immigrants nationwide, they have higher concentrations in a number of states, representing 29 percent of all immigrants in North Dakota, 28 percent in Minnesota, 25 percent in Maryland, 24 percent in the District of Columbia and 23 percent in Delaware.   
  • In certain metro areas—Boston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle and Hartford—Black immigrants represent at least one-quarter of all Black residents. 
  • Employment rates for Black immigrant men (72 percent) and women (65 percent) exceed those of U.S.-born workers (62 percent for men and 56 percent for women), with many employed in sectors central to the U.S. economy, including health care, transportation and professional services. Black immigrant women are especially concentrated in health-care occupations, with 36 percent working in that sector, while transportation is the leading sector for men (employing 17 percent). 
  • Indicators point to strong integration and societal outcomes. About one-third of Black immigrants hold a university degree (36 percent of men and 33 percent of women, similar to the U.S.-born and overall immigrant populations), and most speak English proficiently, with a much higher share speaking English at home than among immigrants overall. Black immigrants are also more likely to be married than the U.S. born. 
  • Despite this, Black immigrants also face economic challenges and barriers, including having lower median earnings and household income than non-Black immigrants and the U.S. born, and a relatively low rate of home ownership (49 percent, as compared to 73 percent for the non-Black U.S. born and 59 percent for non-Black immigrants). 

The findings come amid a shifting immigration policy environment. Recent federal changes significantly narrowing refugee resettlement and other humanitarian pathways, ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations and increasing immigration enforcement have increased uncertainty for some Black immigrant communities, with a particular focus of late on Haitian and Somali ones. 

“Understanding Black immigrants’ assets and unique challenges, and the considerable diversity within this population, has never been more important,” writes MPI Senior Policy Analyst Valerie Lacarte. “At a time when policies restricting immigration of all kinds are being implemented and misinformation about immigrant communities abounds, the fact remains—and the data in this fact sheet demonstrate—that Black immigrants are generally highly educated, English speaking and significant contributors to the U.S. economy.” 

Read the fact sheet here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/black-immigrants. 

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

John Ivison: America appears to be slamming its doors on Canadian professionals with work visas

2026/02/13 Leave a comment

Money quote:

…“But why would anyone who doesn’t have to, run the risk of humiliation in their own country by U.S. Department of Homeland Security staff who seem only slightly more house-trained than their colleagues in Immigration and Customs Enforcement?”

Source: John Ivison: America appears to be slamming its doors on Canadian professionals with work visas

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Meggs: Retour sur l’esprit de l’Accord Canada-Québec relatif à l’immigration pour ses 35 ans

2026/02/11 Leave a comment

Good long read from former Quebec official on the genesis of two-step immigration. Conclusion excerpt:

….Il a été durable en dépit de l’évolution du système d’immigration canadien depuis sa signature, largement grâce aux mécanismes intergouvernementaux de gestion prévus dans les annexes.

Cela étant dit, cette gestion concertée a donné lieu vers 2005 à l’abandon, sans amendement, par les deux gouvernements, d’un article qui — on s’en rend compte aujourd’hui — était la clé de voûte de notre système traditionnel d’immigration. Il s’agit de l’article 9 : « Le Canada et le Québec reconnaissent que les demandes de droit d’établissement doivent normalement être déposées et étudiées à l’étranger. »

L’abandon de cette règle a ouvert la porte à la réception des demandes d’immigration permanente par des personnes déjà sur le territoire avec un statut temporaire. Peu de temps après, le Canada a créé son Programme de la catégorie de l’expérience canadienne (CEC – 2008) et le Québec son Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ – 2010).

Aucun des deux gouvernements n’a pensé aux conséquences de cette décision sur la planification de l’immigration. Si les personnes sélectionnées pour la résidence permanente venaient de l’étranger, planifier les seuils d’immigration permanente suffisait pour prévoir et réguler le nombre d’arrivées et le nombre de personnes qui s’établiraient.

À l’inverse, si les personnes à statut temporaire devaient quitter le pays pour faire une demande d’immigration permanente, il n’était pas nécessaire d’en fixer le nombre. Avec l’octroi de la résidence permanente à des personnes déjà sur le territoire, la planification de l’immigration permanente s’éloignait de plus en plus des arrivées.

Le nombre d’immigrants temporaires a donc grimpé de manière exponentielle dans les dix dernières années, sans que les niveaux planifiés d’immigration permanente suivent le rythme.

Le résultat est un bassin phénoménal de personnes au Québec, comme au Canada, qui s’attendent à pouvoir obtenir la résidence permanence. La crise du PEQ n’en est qu’un exemple particulier.

C’était l’intention des négociateurs de l’Accord Canada-Québec de reconnaître au Québec le contrôle sur l’ensemble de l’immigration sur son territoire, incluant l’immigration temporaire, à l’unique exception des demandeurs d’asile. Aujourd’hui, il y a des avis divergents sur la responsabilité du Québec sur un ensemble important de permis de travail, ce qui fait en sorte que le Québec ne donne pas son consentement à ce pan d’immigration temporaire.

Le système actuel d’immigration à multiples étapes a grandement amplifié le nombre de dédoublements, de chevauchements et de frais auxquels font face les personnes qui souhaitent venir au Québec pour étudier, travailler, et s’établir. Il crée également de la précarité et de la vulnérabilité. L’Accord offre la possibilité de mieux partager les responsabilités entre les deux États pour réduire ces inconvénients et diminuer les coûts.

En cette année électorale, il est évident que tous les partis politiques seront appelés à se positionner sur le dossier complexe de l’immigration. Espérons qu’ils sauront tirer pleinement avantage de l’Accord signé il y a 35 ans afin de protéger la spécificité de la nation québécoise.

Source: Retour sur l’esprit de l’Accord Canada-Québec relatif à l’immigration pour ses 35 ans

…. It has been sustainable despite the evolution of the Canadian immigration system since its signing, largely thanks to the intergovernmental management mechanisms provided for in the annexes.

That being said, this concerted management led around 2005 to the abandonment, without amendment, by the two governments, of an article that – we realize today – was the cornerstone of our traditional immigration system. This is Article 9: “Canada and Quebec recognize that applications for the right of establishment must normally be filed and studied abroad. ”

The abandonment of this rule opened the door to the receipt of applications for permanent immigration by people already in the territory with temporary status. Shortly after, Canada created its Canadian Experience Category Program (CEC – 2008) and Quebec its Quebec Experience Program (QEP – 2010).

Neither government has thought about the consequences of this decision on immigration planning. If the people selected for permanent residence came from abroad, planning permanent immigration thresholds was enough to predict and regulate the number of arrivals and the number of people who would settle.

Conversely, if people with temporary status had to leave the country to apply for permanent immigration, it was not necessary to set the number. With the granting of permanent residence to people already in the territory, the planning of permanent immigration was increasingly far away from arrivals.

The number of temporary immigrants has therefore risen exponentially in the last ten years, without the planned levels of permanent immigration following the pace.

The result is a phenomenal pool of people in Quebec, as in Canada, who expect to be able to obtain permanent residence. The PEQ crisis is just one particular example of this.

It was the intention of the negotiators of the Canada-Quebec Agreement to recognize Quebec’s control over all immigration on its territory, including temporary immigration, with the sole exception of asylum seekers. Today, there are divergent opinions on Quebec’s responsibility for a large set of work permits, which means that Quebec does not give its consent to this part of temporary immigration.

The current system of multi-stage immigration has greatly amplified the number of duplications, overlaps and fees faced by people who wish to come to Quebec to study, work, and settle. It also creates precariousness and vulnerability. The Agreement offers the possibility of better sharing of responsibilities between the two States to reduce these inconveniences and lower costs.

In this election year, it is obvious that all political parties will be called upon to position themselves on the complex issue of immigration. Let’s hope that they will be able to take full advantage of the Agreement signed 35 years ago to protect the specificity of the Quebec nation.

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