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Where the parties stand on immigration |
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By Ethan Caleb » With an
election looming, many readers have been wondering where Canada's major
political parties stand on immigration. There has been a lot of
speculation, though not always based on fact, that other parties might
scale back immigration numbers or make it more difficult for certain
categories of people to enter the country.
To make it easier to understand how each party might tackle the issue of immigration if they came to power, we have compiled overviews of each party, and their officially stated policy, drawn from their own websites, policy manuals or from leaders' speeches.
Liberal Party of Canada (leader and Prime Minister: Paul Martin)
About the Party: The Liberal Party is a centre orientated, nationally based political party. The party tends to pursue policies that are between right-wing conservatism and left-wing socialism. The Liberals have been in power in Canada for most of the 20th century, and remained in power into the 21st century. Throughout their leadership, they have focused on policies such as the welfare state, bilingualism, patriation of the constitution, free trade, and multiculturalism.
Immigration Policy: The Liberals plan to encourage more active recruitment of immigrants to meet Canada's labour and research needs. They recently pledged $1.3 billion over five years to improvement settlement services for new immigrants.
The Liberals want to improve language training and the process of upgrading and recognizing credentials of skilled professionals such as foreign-trained doctors to make it easier for them to work in Canada.
The Conservative Party of Canada (leader: Stephen Harper)
About the Party: The Conservative Party was born in December 2003 following a merger between the Canadian Alliance Party and the Progessive Conservative Party. It was set up in an attempt to “unite the right” and provide a viable alternative to the Liberal Party. The Conservative Party maintains broad-based right-wing policies, focusing on a balance between fiscal accountability and progressive social programs. While the two original parties are closely tied on some policy issues, there is potential for division within the merged party on issues such as immigration, multiculturalism, and social issues.
Immigration Policy: The Conservatives believe new immigrants should not receive national government-funded assistance, but do say they would ensure adequate long-term funding to the provinces to help immigrants settle in Canada. With respect to choosing immigrants, the party believes immigration should be merit-based, with the main criteria being Canada’s economic needs.
They say they would streamline the process of validating refugee claims and toughen laws against illegal immigrants. They would also reverse the policy of separating married couples while application of non-status partner is processed.
The Tories want to establish a new system for assessing the credentials of foreign-trained professionals with a view to granting equivalent Canadian professional status.
New Democratic Party of Canada, or NDP (leader: Jack Layton)
About the Party: The NDP are a left-wing, ideologically driven, and nationally based political party. The party advocates social democratic policies and tends not to drastically alter its policies with changes in public attitudes. The party is nationally orientated with support across the country. Human rights issues and cultural diversity have always been cornerstones of their party policy. Progressive policies regarding the environment, health care, education, and culture are all included in the basis of the NDP's socialist democratic policies.
Immigration Policy: The NDP has said that family reunification should be the core principle of Canadian policies on immigration and refugees. They support the following proposals:
- Bring real immigration levels up to one per cent of the population
- Improve recognition of foreign credentials of professionals
- End the head tax on immigrants
- Enact a once-in-a lifetime provision to enable Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor one relative to reunite families
Bloc Quebecois (leader: Gilles Duceppe)
About the Party: The Bloc is a left-wing orientated, ideologically driven, and regionally based political party. The Bloc tends to supports social democratic principles and Quebec nationalist policies. The party is orientated towards Quebec with little or no support outside the region.
Immigration Policy: The Bloc would like to see more money transferred to the provinces, specifically Quebec, to oversee their own immigration strategies. They would also like to create an appeal office for refugees. The Bloc promises that if Quebec gains independence, they would promote immigration to attract immigrants to all regions of Quebec. They would promote cultural diversity through the creation of a national institution.
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Newsfile 