Canada's federal budget for 2022 is published
What will change for immigrants?
Canada continues to invest in hiring professionals from other countries. Changes in laws are also expected — so far it has been announced that the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act will be amended. The amendments are needed so that the Department of Immigration can select those applicants from the Express Entry pool who best meet the needs of the Canadian labour market and speed up the acquisition of Canadian citizenship for permanent residents.
In terms of money invested in specific projects, the federal government's priorities have changed slightly from 2021. In 2022, the government outlined three critical areas of immigration policy.
Immigration plan
To process permanent residency applicants as planned over the coming years, and to help them adjust, the federal government of Canada is allocating $317.6 million CAD now and $2.1 billion CAD in phases over five years.
Support for new residents
The government intends to spend $37.2 million CAD now and $187.3 million CAD over five years directly on state programs to support immigrants.
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
For three years, the government will invest in a "reliable employer" model. To come to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, an immigrant must find an employer who will complete a labour market impact assessment, the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This is also difficult for the employer itself, so the government intends to simplify the paperwork for those companies that have already hired foreigners and provided them with good working conditions. A total of $29.3 million CAD will be allocated for the development and implementation of this improvement.
The Canadian government has allocated $48.2 million CAD to create a new streamlined program that will allow agriculture and fisheries professionals to enter the country.
Also over three years, $64.6 million CAD will be spent to expedite the processing of applications from employers who need overseas workers.
