Canadian Immigration News

This week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will be unveiling the 2012 Immigration Action Plan. According to an early statement made by Kenney, immigration levels will stay around 250,000 newcomers a year.

The Government of Canada will soon be announcing conditional visas for those sponsored under Canada’s Family Class Spousal Sponsorship Program in attempt to curb marriage fraud. There was speculation that this change would be considered, but Canadian officials are now confirming that the conditional visa will be introduced later this year.

A recently released study regarding immigration found that Canadians are still supportive of immigration. The study, which was released by Montreal’s Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) found that Canada continues to be a welcoming place for newcomers, with the many Canadians showing support for high levels of immigration.

Canadian immigration processing times are increasing as a backlog of applications is building up at visa offices. Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney suggested that a simple solution may exist – decrease the number of applications Canada accepts from people wanting to join their families in Canada.

From October 17 to 23 Canada celebrates Citizenship Week. This celebration attracts over 4,000 people from across Canada to participate in activities to reflect on citizenship and Canadian values. More than 60 Canadian citizenship ceremonies are taking place around the country where Canadians will reaffirm their commitment to Canada.

British Columbia has revised its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to permanently include long-haul truck drivers as part of its program. Previously, long-haul truck drivers were considered under a pilot project program.

Canada has put an end to an ineffective refugee program in order to put more efforts into working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and refugees in greatest need of Canadian help.

Forbes has ranked Canada number one as the top destination in the world for business. Canada moved up from number four last year, thanks to a higher score in the tax category.

Thanks to a unique Canadian program, new Canadian citizens are offered a free 12-month entrance pass to attractions across the country. The program is called the Cultural Access Pass, CAP, and is managed by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. The program is quickly gaining popularity. Three years ago, only six facilities participated. Now, the program enrols 80 citizens a day with over 1,000 attractions across the country.

An Ontario community, Simcoe County, is welcoming immigrants with open arms. The county is one of 45 in Ontario that has been asked by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to host a partnership aimed at analyzing the needs of current residents and newcomers.