In a mini-budget presented to parliament, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale also spoke about the need to boost Canada's annual immigration target to 320,000 a year.

However there was no mention of any extra money to open Canada's doors any wider. Nor was there any new funding to tackle the chronic problems that face the immigration system now, such as a backlog of 700,000 people caught in limbo abroad, waiting to come to Canada.

The mini-budget, initially expected to be presented in February, was fast-tracked with opposition parties moving to bring down the minority government, possibly sparking a pre-Christmas election. In any event, Martin has pledged to hold an election by Spring 2006.

The promises outlined by Goodale are naturally dependent on the Liberals coming back to power.

"To help ease some of the demographic pressures coming just around the corner, it is clear that we will need to increase the number of skilled immigrants we welcome to our shores," Goodale said while outlining his plans.

"But before we can do that, we have to make our immigration system more efficient and effective than ever. We will invest in immigration policies and practices that allow newcomers to participate fully in our workforce and our communities as quickly as possible," he added.

Goodale proposed spending $1.3 billion over five years to improve settlement and integration services for new immigrants. More than half of that would go to Ontario, which takes in just over 50 per cent of all newcomers, to fund programs that help immigrants find work and learn English or French.