The new additional letter contains no surprises and precisely states the objectives pursued by the Canadian government during its tenure in office. It complements the objectives specified in IRCC’s December 2019 mandate letter. The underlying theme of the statement is that Canada will continue to operate its immigration system to the best of its ability throughout the pandemic in order to leverage the skills and talents of newcomers to maintain its economic health once the virus is over.
Since 2015, liberals have expanded immigration.
In September, Trudeau’s Liberal party was re-elected for a third consecutive term. Since entering office in 2015, they have undertaken an ambitious program of increased immigration. This has necessitated an increase in immigration from approximately 300,000 annual arrivals to the current objective of over 400,000 annual entries.
Trudeau introduced his new cabinet in October following their victory. Fraser is a Nova Scotia native and a professional lawyer who was first elected to Parliament in 2015. He succeeds Marco Mendicino, who served as Minister of Immigration from 2019 to 2019 and is now the Minister of Public Safety.
As per a meeting held in October 2021 between IRCC and organizations representing Canadian immigration lawyers and consultants, the unit currently has three short-term priorities: meeting the 401,000 newcomer objective for 2021, reuniting families, and helping bring Afghan refugees to safety in Canada.
With the release of a new mandate letter, we may anticipate IRCC to broaden the scope of its priorities in the coming months.
