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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada introduced new legislation extending citizenship by descent beyond the current first-generation limit.
Key Points:
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.
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The Minister of Public Safety introduced the Strong Borders Act to secure Canadian borders against transnational organized crime, the flow of illegal fentanyl and money laundering.
The government of Canada has introduced temporary Employment Insurance (EI) measures to improve access to EI benefits, including waiving the one-week waiting period.
Additional Information: The temporary EI measures were introduced to support workers in response to major changes in economic conditions and provide “resources and solutions to help manage the potential effects of the evolving Canada-United States relationship.”
The Canadian government announced the removal of job offer points from the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) in the Express Entry pool.
Additional Information: The CRS previously awarded 50 points to any other skilled occupation with Arranged Employment and 200 points to those with Arranged Employment offers in senior managerial positions (Major Group 00 of the National Occupation Classification).
As BAL reported, the Canadian government announced late last year that temporary foreign workers who apply to become permanent residents through the Express Entry system will soon no longer get additional points if they have a job offer supported by an LMIA. The most recent change removes points for all offers of Arranged Employment, LMIA-based or otherwise.
The Canadian government announced an increase to the federal minimum wage, effective April 1.
Additional Information: Increases to the federal minimum wage are based on Canada’s Consumer Price Index for the previous calendar year, as published by Statistics Canada. Employers should take the new minimum wage into account when planning their 2025 budgets.
The Canadian government provided an update on the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program in 2025.
Additional Information: Authorities confirmed that overall reductions to immigration targets in the 2025–27 Immigration Levels Plan will require IRCC to recalibrate the number of new applications, and this will impact families who have not had an opportunity to submit an interest to sponsor form. IRCC is trying to balance the number of PGP Program applications received with the number of PGP Program spaces available within the prescribed Immigration Levels Plan.
As BAL reported, the government recently made the super visa more accessible by implementing a change to the health insurance requirement, and this option remains available for parents and grandparents who would like to visit Canada.
The Canadian government announced an extension of the temporary refusal policy that applies to certain Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications for low-wage positions in Montréal and Laval.
Additional Information: As BAL reported, the Canadian government currently has a policy in place that refuses to process requirements for low-wage positions in areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher — now including the Montréal census metropolitan area. Authorities provided more information on the refusal process here, including any exemptions that may apply and municipalities included in the economic region of Montréal.
The Canadian government has updated the TFW Program recently to ensure it remains responsive to labor market needs and to protect temporary foreign workers from fraud and abuse. This includes a recent 20% increase to the median wage for workers in the high-wage stream for specific provinces or territories of work, as well as new measures for the low-wage stream. Officials stated the TFW Program is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used when a qualified Canadian is not able to fill a job vacancy, and further adjustments will be made if needed to help ensure that only compliant employers with demonstrable labor needs can access the TFW Program.
The Canadian government announced the Express Entry category-based draws for 2025, which include a new education category.
Additional Information: IRCC is focusing economic immigrant selection efforts on priority sectors, such as healthcare, construction and education. The government is prioritizing bringing in skilled workers who have specific skills, training or language abilities to support economic growth in these sectors, with a focus on targeting more in-Canada draws specifically to reduce labor shortages.
See the elections taking place in North America this year. This post will be updated with outcomes as the elections are completed.
Visit BAL’s Global Election Hub for more information on 2025 elections around the world.
DATE OF ELECTION April 28.
TYPE OF ELECTION Parliamentary election.
OUTCOME Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won the federal election but fell short of winning an outright majority in Parliament. Preliminary results show the Liberal Party winning 169 seats, just three seats short of the majority, while the Conservative Party finished with 144 seats. Carney’s main opponent, Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party, was voted out of his seat in Parliament.
Without the majority in Parliament, the Liberals will need to rely on one of the smaller parties to maintain power: Bloc Québécois, a separatist party from French-speaking Quebec, or the New Democrats, the progressive party former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau relied on to stay in power.
Canadian authorities updated rules to strengthen authorities’ ability to cancel temporary resident documents.
Additional Information: The amended regulations came into force on Jan. 31 and are published in the Canada Gazette II. Officials stated the changes will enhance the integrity of Canada’s temporary residence programs and strengthen security. The Canadian government continues to implement changes to their immigration system, including recent changes to open work permits for family members of temporary residents as well as a policy change designed to reduce flagpolers at ports of entry for work and study permits.