Quebec Conservative leader Eric Duhaime said the Canadian immigration system is broken. From a Quebec perspective, Duhaime said it has tried to have as many francophones as possible, but immigration is no longer a language issue. “It’s the fact that they’re not Canadian,” said Duhaime on a Thursday panel at the Canada Strong and Free Network National Conference in Ottawa. “They don’t even define themselves as Canadians.” Even after a few generations, he acknowledged these immigrants do not call themselves Canadians. At the end of the day, he said these immigrants go on to insult Canadians. He called this “something we should be very concerned about.” When Quebec was raising these issues one decade ago, people would call it intolerant and racist. However, English Canadians have started to make these remarks now. These remarks do not pertain to the language barrier. He said Canada needs to be cautious with immigration. At the moment, he accused the Canadian government of being out of control with it. A large number of refugee applicants are heading to Quebec. This has created serious tensions. If people want to have an accepted immigration policy, he said most of the population has to support it to ensure it does not raise tensions between communities. That is not the Canada people observe right now. Because the Liberals are out of control on immigration, he pointed out newcomers and Canadian citizens are hostile to each other. Since this is bad for the future, he said people need to fight against it right now. Canada is a diverse country. He said its immigration policy “cannot be a one size fits all.” Parts of Canada might have booming economies, housing shortages, and linguistic differences. In response, he called for provinces to have more say on immigration. As conservatives, Duhaime said they should love it when power is closer to the provinces. “And it’s very important for us to bring that policy closer to home,” he said. Macdonald-Laurier Institute Domestic Policy Program Director Aaron Wudrick said the Canadian immigration system is broken. “The biggest problem with our immigration numbers right now is the student stream,” said Wudrick. “This has been a loophole that’s been widely acknowledged.” The Canadian government has said it is working to address this. If this gets under control, Wudrick predicted a large part of the numbers problem will be solved. Conservative MP Tom Kmiec (Calgary-Shepard, AB) said conservatives should be talking about immigration like this panel would. “As we talked about behind stage, I am going to ask an open-ended, broad question,” said Kmiec. “It’s a question I hear very often both from journalists asking me this, from would be politicians, and rank-and-file Canadians who are inundating my inbox.” Kmiec asked if Canada’s immigration system is broken. The Canadian government said in 2022 it will increase the number of immigrants entering Canada, with a goal of bringing in 500,000 in 2025.READ MORE: Ottawa to welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2030That was up from the 405,000 immigrants who came to Canada in 2021 and the 465,000 expected to arrive in 2023. The plan — revealed by former immigration minister Sean Fraser — emphasized bringing in immigrants based on their work skills and experience.
Quebec Conservative leader Eric Duhaime said the Canadian immigration system is broken. From a Quebec perspective, Duhaime said it has tried to have as many francophones as possible, but immigration is no longer a language issue. “It’s the fact that they’re not Canadian,” said Duhaime on a Thursday panel at the Canada Strong and Free Network National Conference in Ottawa. “They don’t even define themselves as Canadians.” Even after a few generations, he acknowledged these immigrants do not call themselves Canadians. At the end of the day, he said these immigrants go on to insult Canadians. He called this “something we should be very concerned about.” When Quebec was raising these issues one decade ago, people would call it intolerant and racist. However, English Canadians have started to make these remarks now. These remarks do not pertain to the language barrier. He said Canada needs to be cautious with immigration. At the moment, he accused the Canadian government of being out of control with it. A large number of refugee applicants are heading to Quebec. This has created serious tensions. If people want to have an accepted immigration policy, he said most of the population has to support it to ensure it does not raise tensions between communities. That is not the Canada people observe right now. Because the Liberals are out of control on immigration, he pointed out newcomers and Canadian citizens are hostile to each other. Since this is bad for the future, he said people need to fight against it right now. Canada is a diverse country. He said its immigration policy “cannot be a one size fits all.” Parts of Canada might have booming economies, housing shortages, and linguistic differences. In response, he called for provinces to have more say on immigration. As conservatives, Duhaime said they should love it when power is closer to the provinces. “And it’s very important for us to bring that policy closer to home,” he said. Macdonald-Laurier Institute Domestic Policy Program Director Aaron Wudrick said the Canadian immigration system is broken. “The biggest problem with our immigration numbers right now is the student stream,” said Wudrick. “This has been a loophole that’s been widely acknowledged.” The Canadian government has said it is working to address this. If this gets under control, Wudrick predicted a large part of the numbers problem will be solved. Conservative MP Tom Kmiec (Calgary-Shepard, AB) said conservatives should be talking about immigration like this panel would. “As we talked about behind stage, I am going to ask an open-ended, broad question,” said Kmiec. “It’s a question I hear very often both from journalists asking me this, from would be politicians, and rank-and-file Canadians who are inundating my inbox.” Kmiec asked if Canada’s immigration system is broken. The Canadian government said in 2022 it will increase the number of immigrants entering Canada, with a goal of bringing in 500,000 in 2025.READ MORE: Ottawa to welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2030That was up from the 405,000 immigrants who came to Canada in 2021 and the 465,000 expected to arrive in 2023. The plan — revealed by former immigration minister Sean Fraser — emphasized bringing in immigrants based on their work skills and experience.
