Minister Mendicino highlights immigration investments in Budget 2021 in support of Canada’s economic recovery

May 12, 2021—Ottawa—The pandemic has disproportionately affected low-wage workers, young people, women and racialized Canadians. Last month, our government released a plan to support them in Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience. This plan will ensure a robust economic recovery that is inclusive of all Canadians and that finishes the fight against COVID-19.

Immigrants create jobs, help to drive economic growth and will play an important part in Canada’s recovery. Today, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, met with the Canadian Club of Ottawa to highlight immigration investments from Budget 2021. Through these investments, Canada will draw even more talented, highly skilled people to Canada, including international students. The investments will support an immigration system that is easier to navigate, and more efficient in welcoming the dynamic new Canadians who add to Canada’s strength.
That is why Budget 2021 is promising improvements to immigration that
· deliver a modern immigration processing platform
· support racialized newcomer women
· enhance the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
· accelerate pathways to permanent residence
· streamline Express Entry, and
· enhance capacity and service standards within the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Client Support Centre
IRCC has already made strides in improving our technology, by digitizing more of our operations and increasing the amount of processing happening virtually. Building on this progress, Budget 2021 gives us the means to further modernize our digital infrastructure to create a secure, stable and flexible enterprise-wide digital platform to accelerate application processing and help Canada remain a destination of choice.
Altogether, the investments in Budget 2021 will support an immigration system that is more client-focused, streamlined and geared towards making it simpler for talented individuals to establish themselves in Canada.