Liberals lay out Canada’s immigration priorities in the new Mandate Letter

The new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mendicino, surely has a lot on his plate because the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has wasted no time in assigning him his duties. Mendicino has to handle the arrival of over a million permanent residents to the country, and also create a new Municipal Nominee Program. All these responsibilities along with a list of others have been listed in Mendicino’s Mandate Letter.

The government published it recently, and the letter does not spring any surprises on the reader. Based on the policies brought into effect by the Liberal Party of Canada between 2015 and 2019 during the first mandate, the Letter honors the promises that were outlined in the platform that the Liberals campaigned on during the fall.

Some of the primary aspects of the Mandate Letter call on Mendicino include:

• The effective implementation of the increased annual Immigration Levels Plan in Canada for the years 2020-2022. The goal would be to attract over a million new permanent residents to the country.
• Working in conjunction with the provinces and territories in order to ensure a strong emphasis on the delivery of premium settlement services. This helps in successful settlement and allows newcomers to integrate into Canadian society without much hassle. Immigrants should feel like they are a part of the community if they are to make significant economic contributions.
• Introducing a Municipal Nominee Program allowing chambers of commerce, local communities, and local labor councils to sponsor permanent immigrants. Under the Municipal Nominee Program, the immigrants will be encouraged to settle in areas outside the big metropolitan cities of Canada.
• Making the Atlantic Immigration Pilot permanent. This will increase the population and economic growth across the Atlantic region of Canada.

The Letter goes into detail about all the other responsibilities as well.