Ottawa Hints More Syrian Refugees Means Lesser Immigrants from Elsewhere

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The federal government has announced to increase its total number of immigrants to be welcomed this year, but it confessed that some immigration streams might still face cutback due to a large number of reservations for Syrian refugees. Immigration Minister, John McCallum, made these remarks as the government is preparing to table its 2016 immigration targets by March 9, outlining the anticipated number of new permanent residents Canada will welcome this year.

During an interview, Minister McCallum explained that the government will be “expanding the pie” to accommodate its ambitious Syrian refugee resettlement plan and pointed out that “there are limits to how much we can expand the pie, so there will always be trade-offs.” He highlighted that “we will be aiming for a relatively high level of total immigration, so to a degree, the additional refugees will be accommodated by a higher total, but … to some extent, it’s a zero-sum game. If you let in more of one, you let in less of another.” However, Mr. McCallum failed to reveal any specific details which means we will have to wait until the government tables the immigration plan in Parliament.

According to Queen’s University immigration and refugee law professor, Sharryn Aiken, Mr. McCallum’s comments are a cause for concern. She revealed that “the Liberals campaigned on a commitment to immigration and a clear recognition of the overall benefits of immigration to Canada,” adding that “I wouldn’t want to see what actually constitutes a very modest increase in the refugee program result in downward pressure on other categories.”