Canada's New Minister of Immigration Announced

Following the recent re-election of the Conservative party as a minority government, Jason Kenney was appointed as the new Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism today. Since January of 2007, Mr. Kenney had filled the role of Minister/Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), prior to which he held positions as Opposition House Leader for several years.

As the new Minister, Mr. Kenney is now responsible for overseeing the federal government department responsible for immigration, refugee and citizenship issues, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. He is also responsible for the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Canadians Re-Elect Conservative Party

Canada's Conservative Party was elected yesterday, but retains only a minority government. The Conservatives, having failed to win enough votes to allow it to have a majority in the Parliament, will continue to have to negotiate with the Opposition parties in order to pass new policies and legislation. This election, which comes two years after a similar minority win two years ago, follows dissolution of Parliament on September 7th following a vote of non-confidence by the Opposition.

One of the issues that the government was working on at the time of the dissolution of Parliament was the overhaul of the Federal immigration system. Faced with lengthy backlogs, the Conservatives had promised to implement changes to resolve this. Opposition parties, concerned about the potential for these changes to have negative consequences in some cases, now continue to push for positive improvements to the system. Liberal Jogn McCallum, a Toronto area Member of Parliament, is promising to push for an open and generous immigration policy.

Canadian Immigration Changes Postponed

Canada's Conservative Party may be waiting until after the upcoming federal election prior to proceeding with planned changes to the skilled worker immigration system, according to speculation by political pollsters. Presently a minority government - meaning that they must negotiate with other parties for concurrence in order pass legislation - the Conservatives may be hoping to be able to implement changes without such negotiations after an election.


It is also speculated that Canada may be viewing a recent overhaul of the Austarlian immigration system as a model for future changes here. Changes in Australia have dramatically reduced processing delays in that country, a primary goal of the current Canadian Minister of Immigration.