How Canadian immigration is impacted by the federal Budget 2023

Annually, the Canadian federal government releases a budget that outlines the country's plans for spending, which are grounded in the current priorities of the elected party.

After committing $1.6 billion towards immigration over six years in last year's budget, Budget 2023 focuses largely on general policies that will benefit natural Canadians and newcomers alike.

An example of this is the national dental care plan for families with an annual income under $90,000. On top of this, starting on April 1 of this year, a new tax-free home savings account will allow first-time homebuyers to save up to $40,000 by making tax-free contributions of up to $8,000 per year.

More on immigration in the context of this year's federal budget

Specific to immigration, Canada's most recent budget projects that funding will largely be used to support current immigration programs and improve application processing.

The following is a list of ways that Canada's 2023 federal budget is going to be improving immigration around the country over the next fiscal year and years to come:

$10 million (by 2027/2028) to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): These funds are to be used to expedite citizenship application processing through the implementation of biometrics
$50.8 million over four years to expand the electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program to low-risk countries as a means of making Canada a more trusted destination and freeing-up resources to screen high-risk travellers
$171.4 million (starting in 2022/2023) to expand the existing Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) agreement and allow more vulnerable persons to escape conflict in Canada
$123.2 million towards increasing Francophone immigration in Canadian regions outside of Quebec

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