Just a week ago, Canadians expressed themselves democratically and selected their next government. Now, Prime Minister Mark Carney and a returned Liberal government, find themselves at a critical moment. Our nation faces three overlapping economic, trade, and global challenges—each of which on its own would more than qualify as a crisis—but also a generational opportunity to chart a practical and thoughtful course toward a stronger Canada and a better life for all Canadians.
That’s exactly what the Business Council of Alberta has called for in our economic policy blueprint: A Strong Canada. A Good Life. We began this journey before the election, offering up bold ideas for how Canada can create an economy that can deliver a good life: when we build and trade, invest in ourselves, and compete and win.
In this series of essays, we’ve already explored three key priorities: fixing Canada’s major project approval process; retracting and repealing bad policy; and boosting competitiveness and trade. Today, we turn to another essential pillar of Canada’s future—immigration (and next week we’ll do one of the biggest challenges facing this new government—energy).
Immigration has always been, and must remain, a cornerstone of Canada’s prosperity story.
From the engineers who’ve solved wicked problems, to the innovators who have energized our tech sector, to the skilled tradespeople who’ve built our cities, immigrants have played a vital role in strengthening our economy, enriching our communities, and shaping Canada’s global reputation from the very first days of our nation.
But today, the system is breaking down. Support for immigration has collapsed in recent years, not because Canadians are suddenly anti-immigrant, but because they see a system that no longer works.
That must change. Canada needs an immigration system that delivers for newcomers and for the country. That means not just asking how many immigrants we bring in, but who, how, and why.
We’ve taken a wrong turn. Now it’s time to course correct
Immigration policy in Canada has drifted from its core purpose: driving long-term prosperity. Increasingly, it’s become a tool for meeting short-term labour shortages, scoring political points, or papering over economic weakness. Federal policy has flooded the system with complex new programs, moved away from selecting high-potential talent, and made the process harder, slower, and less transparent.
The result? Canada is seeing weaker economic growth, missed opportunities for innovation, and a diminished ability to compete on the global stage. We are picking people who are not necessarily going to meet the needs of our workforce. Employers are left scrambling. And Canadians, both new and established, are losing faith in a system that’s failing to deliver economic value or public confidence.
The current system is not working well for the Canadian economy, and just as importantly, it’s not working well for immigrants themselves.
The answer is not to give up on immigration, but to do better, much better. In short, delivering on the promise of immigration for both the Canadian economy and newcomers themselves. To that end, we offer the following pragmatic and straightforward recommendations for Canada’s next minister of immigration.
A return to first principles
The purpose of immigration is to increase prosperity. And in service of this goal, Canada once led the world in immigration innovation. Our points-based system, called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), first introduced in the 1960s, became the gold standard for objectively selecting skilled immigrants based on factors like education, work experience, and language ability.
It worked—fueling decades of growth, inclusion, and shared opportunity. As well as supporting a broad, pan-partisan pro-immigration consensus in our country. But we drifted from that. We’ve gone from a majority of newcomers being selected primarily for their potential economic contribution to a dwindling minority.
Today, we need to modernize that system and restore its purpose, based on a simple principle: selecting those most likely to succeed. That means:
- Simplifying the web of immigration programs and focusing on those with proven economic outcomes.
- Reforming the CRS to prioritize real-world indicators of success, like current employment earnings and field of study or skills.
- Reinstating strong selection thresholds to ensure we’re recruiting individuals who will thrive in Canada’s economy, not just arrive.
To attract the best, we must also be the best
We live in a competitive global marketplace for talent. Canada is no longer the automatic destination for the world’s top minds. A recent survey found that a third of immigrants who came to Canada wouldn’t do it again. Those with the most to offer—entrepreneurs, investors, highly educated professionals—are also the most likely to leave.
The reasons aren’t surprising: settlement supports are underfunded, wages are lagging, housing is out of reach, and economic opportunity feels increasingly scarce.
To reverse this, Canada must commit to stable and predictable immigration levels; ones that align with our absorptive capacity—a term I propose we replace with community capacity—and don’t outpace our ability to house, employ, and support newcomers.
But we must also get serious about rebuilding Canada’s value proposition. That means putting economic growth first and making Canada a place where skilled people can build better lives.
Immigration shouldn’t stop at landing; it should start there
Too often, newcomers arrive in Canada only to face housing shortages, job mismatches, or endless delays in credential recognition. For them, the Canadian dream becomes a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s an economic tragedy and a human injustice.
We need a system that sets people up for success from day one. That means:
- Connecting every newcomer to settlement services before they even land.
- Making support programs visible, accessible, and relevant. Particularly basic language training classes, which are the building block of economic participation, and currently have massive waiting lists.
- Reforming credential recognition, so skilled professionals, especially in regulated fields, can get to work faster and contribute their full potential.
Let provinces lead
Provinces know their labour markets better than Ottawa does. Yet recent federal immigration cuts have disproportionately gutted Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), sidelining one of the most effective tools for regional economic growth.
It’s time to reverse that mistake. We must:
- Restore and grow PNPs’ share of immigration.
- Tie provincial allocations to local success metrics like wages and housing affordability.
- Phase out overlapping federal programs and give provinces a clearer, stronger role in shaping immigration outcomes.
A stronger Canada through smarter immigration
Canada’s future depends on immigration done right. We can’t afford a system that’s complicated, directionless, or misaligned with our economic goals. Instead, we must build one that is clear, competitive, and focused on what really matters: opportunity, prosperity, and success.
Because when immigration works for newcomers, it works for Canada.
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