The new temporary resident immigration option is still lacking in details, but immigration minister Sean Fraser gave CIC News an update on the current policy discussions.

According to Fraser's statement from June 21, "the difficulty that I'm grappling with right now is that we have more individuals arriving temporarily than we may have slots for in our immigration levels plan." "We may have 500,000 individuals here temporarily studying, but we have around 400,000 [rooms for permanent residency]."

The Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) pathway, a similar program that was introduced in 2021, won't be exactly the same as the new program, Fraser previously told CBC news. The TR2PR method was enacted as a one-time solution to assist Canada in reaching its immigration goal notwithstanding border closures. 90,000 temporary workers in Canada might now become permanent residents thanks to the TR2PR programme. Under Marco Mendicino, a former immigration minister, this initiative was started.

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Fraser received the directive to "increase avenues to permanent residency for international students and temporary foreign employees" not long after being appointed immigration minister. According to a resolution introduced by Randeep Sarai, the member of parliament for Surrey Centre, British Columbia, the minister has until May 11 to create and publish a plan to accomplish these objectives.

I'm really hoping for that because I believe it's a great opportunity for Canada. "Over the approaching months we ought to have the option to give some clearness with regards to what these courses might resemble," Fraser said.

The minister rejected the notion that temporary residents would have an advantage in the Express Entry process. Canada's three primary immigration programs—the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program—all use Express Entry as their application management system.

I'm concerned because the Express Entry system could be using people who don't really want to immigrate, Fraser said, so you might not always get the best and the brightest.

The minister did mention further considerations, though. One of the issues being addressed, according to him, is the issue of some temporary residents being denied their temporary permits because the immigration officer is not certain that the foreign national will go when their allotted stay is up. This is a problem for those who wish to work or study in Canada with the intention of settling there permanently.

When in reality, everyone wants them to stay permanently, Fraser added, "They're told they can't come temporarily because others think they would want to stay forever."

Fraser has until September 8 to present a strategy on the motion's six points:

  • increasing the list of professions that qualify for economic immigration programs and giving job experience obtained within Canada greater weight;
  • analyzing data from additional federal immigration programs;
  • using information on the labor market and skill shortages to pick immigrants based on ongoing labor shortages;
  • identifying strategies to respond more quickly to shifts in labor market demands and regional economic priorities; and
  • paying particular attention to occupations and essential services like health care, caregiving, agriculture, manufacturing, service, trades, and transportation.
  • promoting immigrant retention in smaller communities and Francophone immigration outside of Quebec.

The initiative is still in the planning stages, according to the minister, for the time being.

Fraser said: "This is simply something we're in the dialogue and policy building process right now. I don't want to project any final choices on this."