Harper Conservatives Increase Family Reunification in 2011

Ottawa, February 17, 2011 - Following his recent announcement that in 2010, Canada accepted the highest number of immigrants in more than 50 years, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that in 2011 the Harper government will increase family reunification. “We believe in the importance of family reunification as one of the objectives of Canada’s immigration policy,” said Minister Kenney. “That’s why we are increasing our planning range for family class immigrants this year to allow up to 65,000 immigrants into Canada.”

The Ignatieff Liberals have been spreading myths on the issue of family class immigration, cherry picking statistics to give the impression the numbers are going down, not up. Here are the facts. 

In 2010, the government’s planning range for family class immigration (moms, dads, children, parents, and grandparents) was 57,000 to 63,000 immigrants, and by the end of the year, 59,029 were actually admitted. In 2011, the Harper government is making the planning range even more generous - 58,500 to 65,000. We expect that overall admissions in the family class will be within that range. These numbers were made public in our Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration [see Section 2].

“Within the family class, our government is putting wives, husbands, and children first.  Through a slight decrease in projected admissions range for parents and grandparents, we will be able to significantly increase the number of spouses and children admitted next year,” continued Minister Kenney. “That means more dads, moms, and children being reunited with their loved ones than in previous years.” In the 5 years (2006-2010) the Harper government has held office, the average number of immigrants admitted under the family class each year has been 63,476. That is significantly higher than under the 6 years prior to that (2000-2005) when the Liberals held office, during which the annual average was 60,224 immigrants.

The Liberals also imposed a crippling $975 head tax, called the Right of Landing Fee, on all new immigrants during the 1990s. The Harper government wants immigrants to quickly integrate, and to realize their potential. That’s why in 2006 we cut the right of the landing fee for permanent residents in half, from $975 to $490, to assist with their settlement.  This has translated into more than $1,900 in savings for a family of four with two children over the age of 18.  And by reducing the Liberal head tax on immigration, the Harper Conservatives have delivered savings of more than $300 million to immigrants to Canada since 2006. Under the Harper government, Canada’s policy of family reunification remains the most generous in the world. And unlike the Ignatieff Liberals, we don’t just talk about the importance of immigration, we actually take steps to welcome more immigrants, and help them succeed when they arrive.

“I encourage all immigrants to read our Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/annual-report2010/index.asp to learn how the Harper government’s plans for the future of immigration in Canada,” concluded Minister Kenney.