Blue Bird Blog

Minister Miller to reveal strategy to improve Canada’s immigration system today

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller will announce plans to improve Canada’s immigration system today.
Note: This is a developing story. CIC News will update it following Minister Miller’s announcement at 1:15 PM Eastern Time.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released a media advisory stating the minister will “unveil the Strategic Immigration Review report and the plan to improve Canada’s immigration system” beginning at 1:15 PM Eastern Time today.

Earlier this year, IRCC commissioned a report from former immigration Deputy Minister Neil Yeates to evaluate IRCC’s current structure and if it is effective in helping IRCC achieve its mandate. As a former Deputy Minister, Yeates was at one time the most senior civil servant in the department and knowledgeable about how IRCC is managed.

Yeates’ report contained several recommendations related to reorganizing the department to a business line-based structure, reforming the governance system, introducing a stronger system for planning, and reporting and developing a supportive culture within IRCC.

Current Deputy Minister Christiane Fox was interviewed by journalist Paul Wells about the report and said that starting in June 2023 she began to gradually make changes within the department.

She said IRCC is following some of the recommendations. For example, it is now being organized across lines of business. This means IRCC employees will be divided across the various clients that the department services and in such a way as to be more responsive to world events.

Further, a recent audit from Canada’s Office of the Auditor General (OAG) found that in 2022, IRCC’s backlog of permanent resident applications was not acceptable and made recommendations to process applications more effectively to stay within service standards.

These recommendations included reviewing service standards (the amount of time IRCC says an application should take to process) and adjusting the workload in regional offices.

Immigration Levels Plan to be released by November 1

Today's announcement is ahead of the unveiling of the Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026.

The plan is released on or by November 1st each non-election year and outlines the number of permanent residents that Canada aims to admit over the next three years from across all lines classes and further breaks it down by program.

Minister Miller recently told the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that he believes Canada’s high immigration targets need to be maintained. This means IRCC will likely continue to have a large workload while undergoing structural changes.

Source: cicnews.com

Canada

February 2025: State of the Express Entry pool

After a January that saw Express Entry draws return to some semblance of normalcy, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has already held two draws in the month of February.
January saw the issuance of 5,821 Invitations to Apply (ITAs): candidates includes those in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and those in enhanced Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Last month was also the first month since June of 2024 that the immigration department did not hold an Express Entry draw for candidates with French-language proficiency.

A ten-year review: How Express Entry shaped immigration in Canada

Jan 31, 2025 marks the ten-year anniversary of Canada’s first Express Entry draw.

Since then, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued over 800,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residency (PR) through the Express Entry system.

Canada launches new immigration pathway for French speakers

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP) immigration pathway.
This new immigration pathway was first announced in March of 2024, with further details revealed in December of last year.
Under this program, newcomers with an intermediate level of French ability—and who have an offer of employment in priority occupations sought by a community outside of Quebec—can be nominated and receive Canadian permanent residence (PR).

New Brunswick begins reopening immigration programs

New Brunswick will finally begin opening its immigration streams, after a period of adjustment following notice from the federal government that the province would only be given 2,750 immigrant nomination spaces this year.
The 2,750 spaces will be split up between the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program NBPNP (1,500) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) (1,250).
In a press release on February 5, Jean-Claude D’Amours, acting Minister of Post-Secondary Education for the province, stated that the significant reduction in allocations for 2025 has forced the province “to make difficult decisions."

How can my foreign employees legally work in Canada?

To avoid running afoul of Canadian authorities, you should ensure that any foreign employees you require to work in Canada are legally authorized to do so.

You have three main options:

- Work permit exemptions;

- The International Mobility Program (IMP); and

- The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

These industries have the highest retention rates for work permit holders who become permanent residents

The healthcare and social assistance sectors had the highest retention rates of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) who become permanent residents, according to a new report by Statistics Canada.

The study by Stats Can found that the retention rate—the percentage of TFWs who remained working in the same sector after having received permanent residency (PR)—varied dramatically across sectors.