The leaders of Canadian provinces met in Winnipeg this week to discuss shared priorities. In addition, the premiers in Canada highlighted some areas that needed urgent action. Three of these areas are linked to immigration. 

  • Improving healthcare
  • Building a strong labor force
  • Addressing housing needs 

 

The premiers in Canada have been meeting annually as the Council of Federation since 2003 in order to help strengthen interterritorial & interprovincial cooperation and promote relations between federal & provincial governments. 

Building A Strong Labor Force 

They noticed that territories, as well as provinces, are best positioned to address the needs of their respective labor markets & growing economies. In addition, they assert that this includes taking action on international recruitment, skills training, & credential recognition. 

The premiers in Canada assert that they have urged the federal government to support the efforts to address the skills gap via immigration by: 

  • Expediting existing ways & accelerating application processing to address labor market needs, including issuing required work permits . 
  • Increasing the share of territorial as well as provincial nominee programs while selecting economic immigrants. 
  • Increasing the involvement & responsibility of territories & provinces in TFWP.
  • Ensuring that new immigration pathways are developed in partnership with provinces & territories to support alignment with the local market needs & wants. 

 

The premiers in Canada have also called on federal governments to enter into certain agreements with areas/ provinces. These agreements allow the province to assume sole responsibility for its immigration levels & the selection of all other economic newcomers/ immigrants. 

Presently, all territories & provinces except Nunavut & Quebec have their own Provincial Nominee Programs through which they can obtain an allocation of nominations that they can issue to the applicants they feel are suitable to support the economy as well as the labor force. 

Healthcare 

The provinces assert that they have committed themselves to take further action to increase the nation’s access to qualified healthcare professionals. Healthcare is a provincial & territorial responsibility, and it is up to these governments to hire, train, & retain these professionals. 

In addition, the provinces state that they are supporting further action to streamline credential recognition & licensure for internationally-educated health professionals. 

Moreover, the provinces have indicated that by working in collaboration to petition the federal government, they can easily enhance funding, hire more healthcare professionals, & enhance the healthcare of the citizens. 

Well, this has been successful in the past year, wherein the province was successful in obtaining an increase in health funding of $196 billion over the next decade. 

Affordable Housing     

Canada will soon admit 500,000 new permanent inhabitants every year by the end of 2025. But as it stands, affordable housing is in really short supply. The premiers in Canada have made numerous suggestions & recommendations on how to make housing options affordable for Canadians. The proposed measures include: 

  • Increase in financial commitments for housing, like capital funding, operational funding, etc. 
  • Ensure that funding flows through provinces & territories instead of municipalities. 
  • Ensuring that programs are sufficiently funded, flexible, & meet the needs and priorities of territories & provinces. 
  • Streamlining the approval processes as well as program management via CMHC, i.e., Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation. 
  • Amending tax policies to incentivize the new housing development, specifically the development as well as retention of purpose-built rental properties. 

  

The measures are necessary in the face of rising cost of living in Canada. Moreover, Canada’s overnight interest rate went up by 0.25 basis points to 5% on July 12. The BoC asserts that this increase in interest rates is necessary to curb spending & slow inflation. 

In addition, when there is an increase in interest rates, it becomes expensive for banks to borrow money from different financial institutions. Well, the cost is passed down to consumers who need to take out loans, mortgages, etc. 

Improved Program For Displaced Ukrainians 

The premiers in Canada also noted that the application deadline for CUAET, i.e., Canada Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program, is approaching on July 15. They have noted that they do not believe in the fact that the federal government has provided enough funding or support to displaced Ukrainians in Canada. Instead, they are calling out for an improved support program with a new funding partnership.