The new prime minister of Canada Mark Carney has shuffled immigration ministers in his cabinet announcements ahead of the upcoming federal election in 2025. The
The new prime minister of Canada Mark Carney has shuffled immigration ministers in his cabinet announcements ahead of the upcoming federal election in 2025. The new immigration minister of Canada is Rachel Bendayan, who is a member of parliament from Outremont Quebec. She will replace former Immigration Minister Marc Miller as the head of Canada’s immigration force.
Frequently occurring in Canadian politics, cabinet reshuffles give prime ministers the chance to reassign ministers to other government departments or to remove them from office completely. This could be done for several reasons such as rewarding ministers for their excellent work, addressing underperforming departments, or better coordinating government policy with popular sentiment.
Marc Miller replaced Sean Fraser as the immigration minister in the most recent cabinet shuffle which took place in July 2023.
Who is the New Immigration Minister for Canada?
As the former Minister of Official Languages, Minister Bendayan has held several positions in Canadian politics. Furthermore, Minister Bendayan was formerly the Parliamentary Secretary to the;
- Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
- Associate Minister of Finance and Tourism Minister.
- International Trade Export Promotion and Small Business Minister.
Raised in Quebec, Bendayan was born in a Jewish-Moroccan family. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Development Studies and a Bachelor of Civil Law/Juris Doctor Degree from McGill University.
Before going into politics, she built a successful career at Norton Rose Fulbright where she had almost ten years of experience. Bendayan specialized in international trade law during her career, concentrating on litigation and international arbitration. She has additionally been a professor at the Faculty of Law at the Université de Montréal.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Immigration Policies
The new Prime Minister and Immigration Minister are now in charge of Canada’s immigration policy following an administration change. Each Canadian minister, which includes the immigration minister, receives a Mandate Letter from the Prime Minister outlining the goals they must strive for and the difficulties they will face in their position.
Although it is unclear what Prime Minister Carney thinks about these goals and the difficulties facing the Canadian immigration minister, right now what he has said in the past gives some indication of their direction. Carney previously supported the following policies among others.
- Limiting immigration to the sustainable pre-pandemic trend.
- Giving the temporary residents of Canada preference for permanent residence.
- Limiting the number of temporary & foreign employees.
Immigration Portfolio and its Importance
The influx of newcomers is vital to supporting Canada’s labour market and demographics, making immigration a significant issue in Canada’s society. As Immigration Minister Marc Miller frequently emphasized the significance of immigration to Canadian society and how it helped the country escape recession in 2023.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spearheaded the announcement of the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan himself, demonstrating how important the immigration issue is to Canadian politics.
The significant role that many immigration ministers continue to play even after leaving the IRCC is proof of the importance of the immigration portfolio. The immigration minister who came before Marc Miller, Sean Fraser is now Canada’s Minister of Housing Infrastructure and Communities, a crucial position considering the recent imbalance between the nation’s housing supply and demand and the resulting adverse impact on affordability.
In a similar vein, Marc Mendicino, the immigration minister who came before Fraser, has maintained key roles in Canadian politics, most notably as the country’s Minister of Public Safety until 2023. Under Mark Carney, Mendicino is currently Canada’s 16th Chief of Staff-designate.
Along with its increased significance, Canada’s immigration laws give the Immigration and Refugees Commission (IRCC) a degree of authority and discretion over its operations that many government agencies lack. The broad public policies that the IRCC can implement to fulfill its mandate from the government serve as an example of this.
One instance of an old implemented public policy is the temporary measure to remove the work-hour restrictions for international students in Canada during the regular academic year. Students could work an unlimited number of hours outside the campus while still attending classes during their time in regular school semesters under this COVID-era policy. The previous restriction of only 20 off-campus work hours per week during the school semesters was significantly altered by this temporary policy. Currently, during regular school semesters, international students are only permitted to work off-campus 24 hours a week.