Mass regularization of undocumented immigrants | The Minister of Immigration goes back on his promise

(Ottawa) The Canadian Minister of Immigration on Wednesday closed the door to a plan for the massive regularization of undocumented immigrants before the next elections, a promise from Justin Trudeau which had raised the hopes of hundreds of thousands of migrants.

This promise from the Canadian Prime Minister dates from a few years ago, but since then, polls have shown a perceptible change in public opinion towards immigration after years of a policy considered very open. .

“No massive regularization plan is on the agenda, at least before the next election,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters in Vancouver after a meeting with business leaders.

“That’s not to say that in some areas where we need an essential workforce there won’t be an opportunity for some sort of smaller-scale regularization,” he added.

Between 100,000 and one million people are undocumented in Canada, according to different estimates.

Questioned in May by AFP, the minister still promised an “ambitious” program in the coming months, but recognized that it “would not be for everyone”.

The Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, in the minority, faces a conservative opposition which seeks to provoke early elections and which polls give a 20-point lead.

The next elections must technically be held before October 20, 2025.

Canada has sought in recent years to reduce the number of migrants through reforms, whether asylum seekers, foreign students or temporary workers.

“It is clear that the era of unlimited supply of low-cost foreign labor is over,” commented Minister Marc Miller.

Shortly after the election of Donald Trump in the United States last week, Canadian authorities declared that they were in a “state of alert” in the face of the Republican billionaire’s promises of mass expulsions of migrants.

But Marc Miller said Wednesday he expected cooperation with Washington to continue: “There is an alignment of interests to ensure that [la frontière] is safe and secure”, as clandestine crossings have increased in recent years.