Federal, provincial, and municipal counterparts responsible for immigration met this week in Ottawa to discuss and learn from their successes and challenges in welcoming our newest Canadians, says Minister Heath MacDonald, Economic Development and Tourism.
“I was honoured to represent Prince Edward Island and speak about the excellent work being done on the immigration and refugee files, and the meeting was an opportunity to engage in open dialogue on the importance of quickly integrating newcomers to Canada,” said Minister MacDonald. “Minister McCallum’s spirit of cooperation and passion for immigration was noticed and appreciated.”
In 2015, PEI welcomed 810 new Islanders and nominated 696 individuals, 394 business people, 154 skilled workers, and 196 skilled workers under Express Entry. To date, PEI has welcomed 200 Syrian refugees and looks forward to welcoming more in the near future. The influx of new Canadians plays a large role in Prince Edward Island’s economic future, and the region and country recognize immigration as a Canadian priority.
The Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada and the Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade, Government of Ontario co-chaired the meeting held in Ottawa on March 14. Meeting attendees, which included ministers, deputy ministers, and departmental staff from across the country, met to collaborate on key priority areas, including discussions on the Syrian refugee resettlement efforts; resettlement needs and priorities; immigration levels; and the vision action plan. The provinces agreed to continue to work together to develop future immigration levels, further refine the Express Entry system, and promote Canada’s immigration offerings.
“As a province, Prince Edward Island has been growing its population over the past number of years, and immigration is a large part of that,” said Minister Richard Brown, Workforce and Advanced Learning. “This past weekend, the Premier hosted a reception to welcome PEI’s newest residents, and hundreds of Islanders attended to show their support and warmth for their new neighbours.”