Canadian political parties reveal stance on Canada immigration

With Canada's Conservative government announcing in February that over 280,000 immigrants arrived in Canada in 2010 (the highest number in 57 years), each of the major Canadian political parties has been questioned over their stances on immigration.

Canadian immigration

In February it was revealed that over 280,000 immigrants arrived in Canada in 2010 (the highest number in 57 years).

The three major parties in Canada are the Conservative Party (who are currently in power), the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party. The Conservatives have taken efforts to pass a Canadian immigration bill to accelerate the process for expelling false refugee claimants, as well as introduce new legislation that will intern refugee claimants who arrive en masse.

Additionally, in December, 2010, they cut CA$53 million from immigrant and refugee-settlement programs, though a more recent announcement saw Prime Minister Stephen Harper announcing CA$6 million to be put towards immigrant-training programmes.

The Liberal Party differs in their stance on immigration, with the Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff taking a much more positive position. He has said Canada's economic success "turns" on immigration, and that his party's position is that immigration integration services will be provided "as long as you need it".

Ignatieff (who is himself the son of a Russian migrant) has also called for a "fairness commissioner" to be appointed in Ottawa, who would be able to check that professional organisations (such as those representing medical professionals and engineers) to ensure that there is no discrimination against migrants.

Finally, the New Democratic Party (or NDP) has promised to stop the decline in family reunification under the current Canadian immigration system, and also to work to meet the target of allowing migration into Canada to reach 1% of the population annually.

The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people make their Canada Visa application to the Canadian Embassy.