World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. This content has been created by WES and is reproduced here with their permission, in partnership.
Ontario unveils changes to provincial immigration nominee program (Toronto Star)
The Province of Ontario has introduced recent changes to the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP), its provincial immigration program, to meet the evolving economic landscape. The Ontario government tabled new legislation with the Ontario Working for Workers Act that if passed would grant the provincial immigration minister the ability to establish or remove immigrant nomination streams to quickly respond to the changing job market and labour demand. Additionally new provisions of the OINP would grant officials the authority to return applications that no longer match current job market needs, allow for inspectors to require in-person interviews with applicants through the OINP for fraud oversight. The forthcoming legislation arrives as a result of an audit conducted in December 2024, which identified several recommendations for further refinement to the program. The new measures are expected to be implemented by this summer.
Quebec passes bill requiring immigrants to adopt shared values (CBC)
On May 28, Quebec’s legislature has passed a bill to modify the provincial charter of rights that would prioritize the entrenched social integration of newcomers to the province. The “social contract” would require newcomers and cultural minorities to embrace and share in the “common culture” of Quebec; advancing distinct social values and historical traditions. Newcomers to the province must now adhere to shared values including secularism, gender equality, civil law practices, demonstrated proficiency in French language, and interculturalism – where a common culture must be defined and expressed. Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge says he believes that this bill is a needed step in maintaining Quebec’s sovereignty as a distinct society, while fostering intercultural engagement. Provisions of the bill also include measures to protect and further enhance Quebec’s historic anglophone and Indigenous communities. Advocates are citing concerns that the legislation risks stoking anti-immigrant sentiment amongst Quebec residents and limiting access to critical cultural resources for newcomers. The new law includes provisions to potentially reduce funding and close religious schools, childcare centres, and immigrant serving organizations who are non-compliant as well as the potential for ethnic and multicultural festivals to be discontinued. Enforcement and implementation plans still remain unclear.
Admissions of temporary foreign workers to Canada buck a recent trend (Toronto Star)
Experts are questioning the feasibility of the federal government’s ambitious targets to drastically reduce the share of temporary residents within Canada’s population. Despite reduced targets, Canada has seen a spike in the number of work permit holders admitted to the country this year. Latest immigration data indicates that 176,085 work permits took effect under the international mobility program between January and March this year, a 10 percent increase from the last quarter (160,235). While it remains unclear whether the quarterly growth will continue, researchers are unsure if federal government can cut the proportion of temporary residents in the overall population from slightly above seven percent, to under five percent by 2027, as touted by Prime Minister Mark Carney. According to IRCC, the federal government is continuing to monitor the effectiveness of reduction measures to support progress and oversight of stabilization measures.
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Federal bill includes new security powers to tighten border, immigration system (CTV)
The Canadian federal government is putting forward new legislation aiming to tighten border security and crack down on longstanding concerns including irregular migration and asylum processing. Among enhanced provisions, authorities would have powers to reject, pause, and cancel immigration applications and expand the security capacity of the Canadian Coast Guard. Additionally, the bill would provide increased scope of powers in requesting individuals to appear for examination before immigration officials. The bill also proposes amendments to allow for increased access and disclosure of applicants’ personal information across federal departments. For refugees and asylum claimants, the bill would seek to introduce ineligibility rules. Foreign nationals seeking asylum will be ineligible if entering Canada through an unofficial port of entry. Also, ineligibility would now apply to individuals seeking asylum after 14 days even if through official ports of entry. Claims made prior to the introduction of the bill are exempt from these new restrictions. As part of negotiation efforts with the US, Canada is proposing a range of sweeping measures to secure the border; building on previous security policies such as 24/7 border surveillance using helicopters, drones, and towers. The bill must go through three readings, be passed by Parliament and Senate, and receive Royal Assent before becoming law. The first reading took place June 3, 2025.
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