Recently, Canadian Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser stated that the federal government is planning to introduce a new PR pathway for temporary residents. The details on this are still limited, however, the minister specifically mentioned that “Canada is currently experiencing a lot more temporary immigrants than the estimated arrivals as per the immigration levels plan”.

Earlier Fraser mentioned in an interview that the new program will not be similar to the program launched last year, the Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) pathway. It’s a one-time measure that was initiated to meet the immigration target at the time of border closure. This pathway welcomed 90,000 temporary residents working in Canada to attain permanent residence status. Also, this measure was introduced under the guidance of former immigration minister, Marco Mendicino.

Shortly after being appointed, Sean Fraser was delegated to develop pathways to permanent residence for international students and temporary international workers. The new immigration minister is required to come up with an effective strategy to achieve the goals. Fraser mentioned in the latest interview, “More clarity will be offered over the coming months and it will be a huge opportunity for Canada.”

Fraser rubbished the news that temporary residents will be getting extra points through the Express Entry system. Express Entry is an application management system that manages Canada’s three main immigration programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program. The minister also mentioned, “Express Entry system doesn’t always offer you the brightest talent, because sometimes the process shortlists people who don’t want to move”.

Although, Fraser added that there were other factors too. He highlighted that some temporary residents were refused the temporary permits as the immigration officer was not convinced that the foreign nationals would leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay. This creates a challenge for all the people who wish to study and work in Canada and later become permanent residents.

He also added that “they are often told that they cannot move temporarily as some people might think they wish to stay permanently, when in fact we want we want them to stay permanently.”

The immigration minister of Canada has until September 8 to present a plan on the following points:

1. Creating more opportunities for in-Canada work experience under economic immigration programs and increasing qualifying occupational categories

2. Thoroughly inspecting evidence from other federal immigration programs

3. Combining data on the labour market and skills shortages to fulfill the persistent labour shortages

4. Encouraging immigration retention in smaller communities

5. Coming up with an effective mechanism to make quick changes in the labour market requirements

6. Specifically consider occupations and essential services such as health services, caregivers, agriculture, manufacturing and to name a few.

“Currently, the strategy for the new pathway is still under the development phase, we will soon be announcing the final decisions after the complete policy development.” Fraser added.