Canada Immigration News

A Russian diplomat in Canada has voiced his concerns about Canada's strict visa regime for Russian citizens.

"We believe that it should be the procedure of all countries to make the movement of people easier but to our surprise, Canada has made it tougher," said Andrey Varlamov, consul for the Russian Embassy in Ottawa.

A new Statistics Canada study shows that highly skilled migrants in Canada earn significantly lower salaries than migrants in the United States.

From 1980 to 2005, highly skilled Canadian immigrants saw their earnings drop dramatically in comparison to native-born Canadians. As of today, new male immigrants to Canada with university degrees earn about 50 percent less than their Canadian-born counterparts. However, the gap in the United States is much lower, at 30 percent.

Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney celebrated the anniversary of Operation Stork with families helped by the scheme that unites Haitian children with their adoptive parents.

Operation Stork brought 203 Haitian children to Canada following the earthquake that devastated Haiti last year.

"This was a truly monumental task," said Kenney. "In just six weeks, Canadian and provincial officials processed as many adoptions from Haiti as are normally done in two years."

Canada has confirmed that Santa Claus is a Canadian citizen during a special citizenship ceremony on 20 December 2010.

"We wish Mr. Claus all the best in his Christmas Eve duties again this year," said Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

"And rest assured, as a Canadian citizen living in Canada's North, he can re-enter Canada freely once his trip around the world is complete," he added.

A dramatic boost in Canada's population was driven mostly by immigration, according to recent figures released by Statistics Canada.

The increase was the largest in 40 years; As of 1 October 2010 the total Canadian population was 34.2 million. During the third quarter of 2010, 65 percent of the 129,300 increase in Canada's population was due to immigration.

The Canadian government is investing more than $1.6 million to help immigrant children and their families in London, Ontario.

The Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program provides immigrant families with an interactive orientation to the Ontario school system as well as referrals to settlement agencies and other community support services.

"The Government of Canada is helping newcomer youth and their families succeed," said Ed Holder, Member of Parliament for London West.