Social media users pilloried People鈥檚 Party of sa国际传媒 Leader Maxime Bernierafter third-party advertiser True North Strong & Free Advertising Corp.bought billboards, emblazoned with Bernier鈥檚 face and party affiliation, saying 鈥淪ay NO to Mass Immigration.鈥�
When they successfully lobbied Vancouver-based Pattison Outdoor Advertisingto remove the billboards, Bernier berated the critics as belonging to a 鈥渢otalitarian leftist mob,鈥� yet he basked in the publicity that the billboard generated.
While recent opinion polls put Bernier鈥檚 party in the 4% range, and he is excluded from upcoming debates because of that scarce support, the billboard furor and the passion it sparked is a sign that immigration matters are likely to be front and centre during the upcoming federal election campaign.
The result of that election could influence how the Canadian government deals with contentious issues such as:
鈥ow to deal with migrants who cross into sa国际传媒 outside of official border crossings;
鈥ow many United Nations--processed refugees sa国际传媒 should resettle;
鈥ow many immigrants sa国际传媒 should accept; and
鈥ow sa国际传媒 can best attract highly skilled workers needed to fill vacant jobs.
Migrants at the border
Compared with the situation along the southern U.S. border, only a small number of people try to cross north into sa国际传媒 outside of official border crossings.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection hailed progress in July, when it counted 82,049 people who crossed the border outside official border crossings. It was the first time in five months that the count was below 100,000 people.
In contrast, during the first six months of 2019, only 6,858 people crossed the Canadian border outside official border crossings to make refugee claims.
Some migrants enter sa国际传媒 outside of official border crossings because they are then eligible to apply for asylum. The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) stipulates that migrants who apply at official border crossings in sa国际传媒 can be returned to the U.S. because the U.S. is considered a safe country for them to apply for asylum.
鈥淭he Conservatives and the Liberals are not that far apart on the issue of migrants at the border,鈥� said University of British Columbia political science associate professor Antje Ellermann, whose research focus is migration.
The main difference, she said, is that the Conservatives might prioritize the issue more than the Liberals and use different words in their rhetoric.
Conservative Party of sa国际传媒 Leader Andrew Scheer has said that his party will 鈥減ut an end to illegal border crossings at un-official points of entry like Roxham Road [in Quebec],鈥� but he has not explained how.
Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray, who spoke to Business in Vancouver聽on behalf of the Liberal Party of sa国际传媒, said the proper way to refer to the migrants who enter sa国际传媒 at unofficial border crossings is as 鈥渋rregular鈥� crossers, not 鈥渋llegal鈥� ones.
That鈥檚 because United Nations treaties say migrants have a right to cross borders at irregular places if their intent is to seek asylum, said Murray, who is in cabinet as the president of the Treasury Board.
The New Democratic Party(NDP) is the only party to advocate suspending the STCA.
UN-resettled refugees
A separate issue is resettling refugees from international refugee camps who have been processed by the UN.
Last year, sa国际传媒 resettled 28,100 of the 92,400 refugees that the UN processed. That鈥檚 more than any other country in the world 鈥� an honour that sa国际传媒 assumed after the U.S. drastically reduced the number of UN-settled refugees that it agreed to resettle, Ellermann said.
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwansaid members from all parties on Parliament鈥檚 immigration committee have agreed that the government should lift its quota on privately sponsored refugees.
Skilled immigrants
The Liberals aim for a limit of 350,000 immigrants annually by 2021, up from about 300,000 in 2018. The NDP is calling for sa国际传媒 to accept more than 370,000 immigrants annually, which is about 1% of the country鈥檚 population.
The Conservatives have not specified a limit for how many immigrants sa国际传媒 should accept, but Scheer has said he wants to 鈥渟et immigration levels consistent with what is in sa国际传媒鈥檚 best interests.鈥�
How to attract skilled immigrants is a conundrum that has tested successive governments.
The Tories鈥� point system gave extra credit to those who had job offers, while the Liberals have given more points for academic credentials and what Ellermann called 鈥渉uman capital.鈥�
Kwan wants to study the Express Entry system with an eye toward improving it, and to put more resources into it because, she said, the backlog of applicants is too large.鈥�
