On October 14th, a Canadian federal election will be held to either re-elect the governing Conservatives, or to elect a new party and Prime Minister. Given the changes to Canadian immigration policy that have taken place over the past few months, the outcome of this election will have important implications for immigration to Canada. If the Conservatives and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are re-elected, their new immigration priorities (which are, as yet unknown to the public) will finally be put into practice. If not, other political parties plan to repeal the amendments and introduce their own strategies for modernizing and streamlining the Canadian immigration system.

As of September 17, 2008, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is accepting applications for the newest category of Canadian immigration, the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). This fast-track immigration category was designed specifically for Canada’s temporary foreign workers and international graduates with work experience, as a means to more easily transition them into Permanent Residents, and eventually Canadian citizens.

Canada, like most OECD countries, has a selective immigration system that focuses on highly skilled candidates. This has created gaping holes in the lower-skilled Canadian workforce, where many employers are struggling to find workers. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) International Migration Outlook 2008 report recommends that OECD countries adapt their immigration and labour migration policies to be more in line with likely future demand for workers in all economic sectors; both high-skilled and lower-skilled.

With smaller cities and a lower profile, Atlantic Canada traditionally has not seen large influxes of newcomers to Canada. Recent initiatives have somewhat altered this trend, as immigrant communities are becoming established and are growing. However, the rate of immigration is not high enough to satisfy regional governments, who are facing the challenges of aging populations, low birth rates, and chronic labour shortages. To effectively manage these issues and plan for the future, Atlantic provincial governments have banded together to build a regional immigration policy to expand the Atlantic work force.

In two weeks from now, Canadians will go to the polls to select their federal members of Parliament, and unless we experience our own “Dewey Wins” moment, the Conservative Party of Canada will be called upon to form the next national government.