The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
CTV News – Kenney: Atlantic Canada’s Immigration Plan is Flawed
Canada’s immigration minister says Atlantic Canada’s efforts to attract immigrants is flawed. Jason Kenney released a study yesterday that shows only one quarter of provincial nominees who moved to the Atlantic provinces stayed there — compared with 95 per cent in British Columbia. The study looked at how all provinces tailor immigration criteria to fit local labour needs. It also found the majority of workers selected are succeeding, with more than 90 per cent declaring earnings after one year in Canada.
P.E.I. has one of the worst records in the country for retaining immigrants from the provincial nominee program, says a report from Canada Immigration. Just 37 per cent of PNP immigrants who arrived on P.E.I. before 2008 were still living on the Island at the end of that year. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with a worse record: 23 per cent. Retention rates in Alberta and British Columbia were over 95 per cent.
Manitoba still gets the lion’s share of provincial nominee immigrants, but arrivals in the province earn significantly less and are more likely to move away than nominees in the other western provinces, a new report shows. An analysis of the provincial nominee programs in nine provinces and two territories was released Thursday by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Although immigration falls under federal jurisdiction, Ottawa has signed agreements to let provinces and territories establish criteria for, and seek out, immigrants to fill a province’s specific economic needs. Manitoba was the first to sign such an agreement in 1996 and has been the most successful at using the program.
CBC – Immigration Program Useful but Flawed, Kenney Says
There is an ongoing need for the provincial nominee immigration program, a report released Thursday by Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says, but it has some problems that need fixing – especially when it comes to fraud. Kenney’s department did an evaluation of the federal-provincial program that was started in 1998 to try to determine whether it is meeting its objectives.
CBC – Immigration and the Provinces – Deciding Whom to Fast-Track
The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is a national strategy meant to help skilled workers and entrepreneurs from other countries gain permanent resident status in Canada more quickly. The program is run individually in each province. Collectively, the PNP aims to find permanent employment for immigrants in their area of expertise. However, each province has slightly different application criteria.
Toronto Star – Ontario Missing Benefits of “Nominee” Immigrants, Report Says
Ontario is lagging behind in reaping the benefits of a program that brings in skilled immigrants more quickly and more successfully, a new government report shows. A review of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which allows provinces to select their own immigrants based on local economic needs, found that 80 per cent of the selected immigrants are employed in the first year -most of them in their area of expertise. The program fast-tracks immigrants with the right skills, bringing them to Canada in less than a year.
