Canada Immigration News

Jason Kenney, the Canadian immigration minister, has said that he approves of measures taken by the British government to reform its student visa system and intends to reform the Canadian visa system along similar lines.

Canadian government census figures show that there are now 200 languages spoken in Canada.

The first Canadian census was held in 1871. Since 1956, censuses have been held every five years. The most recent was held in 2011. Analysis of the census data shows that there are now more than 200 languages spoken. 20% of the population (6.6m people) mainly speak a language other than French or English at home. Of these, 6.4m speak 'immigrant languages' and 213,000 speak aboriginal Canadian languages.

The Canadian IT sector is thriving. Montreal is a global centre for video game companies for example. Last year (2011) alone, the sector grew by 21% creating 8,000 new jobs.

The Ontario Expert Round Table on Immigration, a committee established to advise the Ontario provincial government on immigration policy, has issued a report saying that Ontario should increase its immigration level to 1% of its population (or 135,000 people) annually.

The Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney visited Ireland last week. On Friday 5th October, Mr Kenney held a joint press conference with the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore. The two men announced an expansion of the Canada-Ireland International Experience Canada program .The ministers said that the number of International Experience Canada (IEC) working holiday visas granted to young Irish citizens will be nearly doubled to 10,000 annually from January 1st, 2014.

Jason Kenney, Canada's Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism, is to visit the UK this week. He will stay for five days and will hold a series of meetings including one with the UK's minister for immigration, Mark Harper.