IRCC, Deputy Minister, Transition Binder, 2024 - Federal-Provincial-Territorial and International Relations - Fundamental Brief

Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Relations

• Immigration is a shared jurisdiction under the Constitution, with federal paramountcy.
• FPT governments work collaboratively to use immigration as a means to grow the economy and address national and regional labour market needs, as well as meet humanitarian and family reunification commitments.
  • The federal government is responsible for setting immigration levels as well as federal economic immigration, family class immigration, refugees, protected persons, and assessing the admissibility of all cases. 
  • Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for nominations under Provincial Nominee Programs. FPT governments collaborate on other initiatives including the Atlantic Immigration Program, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and Francophone immigration.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) engages provinces and territories multilaterally through the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI).

FMRI table holds regular meetings at Ministers, DM, ADM, and DG Levels.
*See Annex A for FMRI Structure

Bilateral Immigration Agreements (BIAs)

Bilateral engagement with provinces and territories (PTs) is guided by legally binding bilateral agreements that outline broad objectives and immigration roles and responsibilities between both orders of government.

• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) (s. 8(1)) and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act (s. 5(1)) provide authorities for the Minister to enter into legally binding agreements with PTs.
• All provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut, have Canada-Provincial/Territorial Immigration Agreements in place
  • Agreements also contain program specific annexes (i.e.: students, workers, francophone immigration). The number of annexes per Agreement differs based on PT interest (e.g., only Ontario and New Brunswick have annexes on French Speaking Immigrants).  
    *See Annex B for a list of agreements and annexes.
• These agreements provide the authority to PTs to operate their own nominee programs.
• These agreements do not include commitments around the nominee allocations nor contain provisions relating to financing or reimbursement.
• The Agreements’ principle-based objectives are complemented by other policy and program mechanisms, which allow for additional flexibility to operationalize programming and supports mentioned in the Agreement.
  • These mechanisms can include Memoranda of Understanding with PT ministries, program Terms and Conditions, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), and Ministerial Instructions.

FPT Relations – Quebec

The bilateral relationship with Quebec on immigration is defined by the Canada-Quebec Accord (the Accord), and is guided by the principle that immigration should support the preservation of Quebec’s demographic importance in Canada and its distinct identity. 

• The Accord is designed to ensure collaboration between both levels of governments throughout the immigration process, in all immigration categories. Quebec’s sophisticated immigration system requires and benefits from the cooperation of both levels of government.
• The Accord allows Quebec to:
  • Establish its own desired immigration levels in all categories;
  • Establish its own selection criteria for economic immigrants;
  • Establish and assess financial criteria for family class sponsorship;
  • Select resettled refugees (both government-assisted and privately sponsored) while sharing overall responsibility with the federal government;
  • Deliver settlement and integration services in the province; and,
  • Receive federal funding to support the delivery of settlement and integration services for permanent residents in the province.
• The federal government is responsible for selecting permanent residents in the family class and protected persons, and for determining the admissibility of all immigrants to the Canadian territory and issuing permanent resident visas.

FPT Relations – Departmental Priorities & PT Engagement

IRCC engages PTs through:

• Bilateral and Regional Relationships
• Multilateral Forums
• Capacity Building and Program Funding

Through broad participation:

• Minister and Deputy Ministers
• Senior-level executives
• Subject matter experts
• Operational staff

A significant number of departmental priorities require negotiation and collaboration with PT governments, including:

• Asylum Seekers – High levels of asylum seekers have put strain on social systems, especially in Ontario and Quebec. [Redacted]
• International Crises – Canada’s international commitments and humanitarian responses to various crises have resulted in volumes of arrivals with significant needs. [Redacted]
• Francophone Immigration – IRCC has recently identified increased Francophone Immigration targets, [Redacted]
• [Redacted]
• Processing – IRCC commitments to design intake systems, as well as streamline application and approval processes, require detailed consideration of PT needs, information sharing, and impacts on various user groups.

FPT Relations – Key PT Issues

• Provinces and territories have recently been focused on a broad range of immigration issues including:

Economic Immigration

[Redacted]

The federal government is consulting PTs on a more agile, client-centred economic immigration system that better meets economic and regional needs.

Regionalization

A key priority is to grow immigration outside of major urban centres to address labour market needs, while continuing to work together to ensure the absorptive capacity of communities to welcome newcomers.

[Redacted]

Asylum and Humanitarian Responses

Increasing numbers of asylum seekers and international humanitarian cohorts (Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine) are placing pressure on social services and housing, implicating provinces that provide these services.

[Redacted]

Quebec

Quebec’s priorities include: addressing labour market shortages, increasing proportion of economic and francophone immigrants, additional control of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Family Class and reforming the International Student Program. [Redacted].

Key Takeaways

• Engagement with provincial and territorial governments is key to the effective delivery on the Department’s mandate and priorities.
• [Redacted]
• [Redacted]
• Pubic opinion in Canada on immigration has historically been positive, recognizing a need for economic immigration balanced with support for migration and refugees. However, this support is being challenged. [Redacted].
• [Redacted].

Annex A - FMRI Governance Structure

The status of all working-level groups is subject to review in conjunction with FMRI governance reviews.

Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration

• Directs strategic pan-Canadian work on immigration and sets context and strategic priorities for FPT officials via a strategic plan

FMRI Deputy Ministers’ Table

• Directs and oversees progress toward the fulfillment of the FMRI’s strategic plan; and provides direction to ADMs on current and emerging priorities for strategic policy and program development and research

FMRI Assistant Deputy Ministers’ Table 

• Identifies and presents emerging strategic policy issues for FPT DMs and Ministers; directs PPT work; reviews progress on outcomes and may recalibrate the FMRI’s strategic plan for approval by FPT Ministers; and approves changes to the FMRI’s governance principles and structure

Policy and Planning Table (PPT)

• Oversee implementation of the FMRI’s Strategic Plan, engaging in strategic, multilateral policy changes and consultations; ensures active buy-in and FPT partnerships; and coordinates, monitors and directs working group work, reviewing and approving work plans and terms of reference for working groups;
• Levels Working Group
• Settlement Working Group
• Economic Policy Working Group
• Francophone Immigration Working Group
• Economic Operations Working Group
• Anti-fraud Sub-group

Annex B - Current Status of Bilateral Immigration Agreements

Annex B - Bilateral Immigration Agreements