Canada Prepared to Capitalize on US Immigration Reform Roadblocks

Source: Winnipeg Free Press via Academica | Aug 11, 2014

Canadian employment minister Jason Kenney said that Canada is poised to take advantage of the slow immigration reform process in the United States. “We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system. I make no bones about it,” said Kenney. He believes that Canada will be able to capitalize by luring foreign-born graduates of top US programs with a new start-up visa program and programs that will fast-track some individuals to permanent residency. “If the United States doesn’t want to open the door to permanent residency for them, that door will be opened in principle for them to come to Canada,” Kenney said. He mentioned that the government had installed a large billboard in California that generated “massive interest and buzz” in Silicon Valley. Kenney made his comments while in Vancouver to announce a $3.3-M funding package to help foreign-trained newcomers find work in British Columbia’s energy and resource sectors, part of afederal push to attract skilled employees.