How can Canada’s immigration and Express Entry be affected by the 2019 federal election?

The country of Canada will hit the polls in October 2019 as the residents begin the process of electing a new federal government. There is no doubt that such a significant change could affect Canada’s current immigration policies massively.

The three primary political parties in Canada, namely the Liberals, New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Conservative Party of Canada have expressed their opinions in favor of immigration for economic purposes. However, the three parties take slightly different approaches to the issue, and hence, there can be some changes to the immigration policy in case the ruling party is overthrown.

The Liberals have opened up Canadian immigration systematically. The immigration policies have favored immigrants who want to gain permanent residency in the country. In fact, the current Canadian immigration policies are starkly different from the policies in some European countries and the United States. One of their most important initiatives was increasing the number of immigration targets so that Canada would welcome over one million new permanent residents by 2021. This will take the country’s immigration rate to almost 1% of the population, which is a huge move.

The Liberals have also reduced the time and effort that need to be dedicated in order to secure Canadian citizenship. They also placed special emphasis on family reunification. Under their regime, the Express Entry system also saw a significant number of changes that could explain the dramatic rise in the number of ITAs for Canadian permanent residence.

In case the Conservatives manage to secure a victory, they plan to establish a “fair, orderly and compassionate” system for immigration tailored to the country’s labor market needs. The Conservatives have not always been in support of the Liberals’ initiatives, and it would be interesting to see how they adjust to the people’s expectations. The NDP has never had a chance to form the Government yet, but they could play a major role in shaping the immigration policy even as a minor party.