Federal Election Likely to Shift Immigration Focus to Family Reunification

Canada

The newly-elected Liberal Party of Canada has stated in its platform that it intends to make family reunification one of its core immigration priorities. This should lead to more investment in and focus on streams that currently allow Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor spouses, parents and grandparents.

The Liberal Party has also stated that it will commit to restore the maximum age of dependents from 19 to 22 and to remove the requirement for Mexican and other nationals to obtain a Temporary Resident Visa.

Election Background

Canada’s 42^nd federal election was held October 19, 2015, and resulted in a major shift in Ottawa. The Liberal Party of Canada, which had the third-most seats when the House of Commons rose, won the election and will form a majority government. Justin Trudeau will become Canada’s 29^th Prime Minister.

What This Means for Employers

It is unlikely that major changes that would affect businesses will be introduced in the near future. Additionally, neither the results from the election nor the platform introduced by the Liberal Party is likely to impact the newly-formed compliance regime or the Employer Monetary Penalties set to take effect on December 1, 2015.

Employers should continue to ensure compliance with immigration rules for foreign workers. 

Fragomen will continue to monitor developments as they occur, including the naming of the new Minister for Citizenship and Immigration, and any new policies that may be introduced.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].

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