Canada's immigration minister provided a new COVID-19 update in recent interview

Canada's immigration Minister Marco Mendicino recently provided insight on Canada's immigration system. He spoke on how the federal government aims to cope with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. The topics discussed were the Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023, Canadian citizenship, and the Municipal Nominee Program.

Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023

Mendicino reminded Canadians that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) aims to welcome 400,000 immigrants each year throughout the program. Mendicino stated that it is necessary because immigrants are key to job creation in Canada and help fill labour market needs.

Canadian Citizenship

IRCC is creating a new pilot program what is enabling eligible permanent residents to complete their Canadian citizenship application online. This includes online citizenship ceremonies. Mendicino hopes to have all processed regarding immigration to be virtual and contactless beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Mendicino reassured that the IRCC is working hard to get rid of Canadian citizenship fees.

Municipal Nominee Program

One of the December 2019 mandate priorities is to launch a Municipal Nominee Program. This is to encourage immigrants to settle in the smaller cities in Canada. Alike the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot programs, Mendicino believes that the Municipal Nominee Program will allow new immigrants to live in smaller regions in Canada. IRCC is in the process of consulting with provincial, municipal, business, and other stakeholders on the design of the new program.