Ontario Labor Minister Monte McNaughton wants to emulate the Quebec model and gain more power in the selection of economic immigrants when he signs the next bilateral immigration agreement in the fall. In interview with The duty a few days after a meeting with his Quebec counterpart, Jean Boulet, Monte McNaughton says he wants “more control and autonomy”.
The Ontario minister is sorry to be able to select only 9,750 newcomers this year through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, while Quebec — which is going it alone in the country in this area — chooses all of its economic immigrants. The program is Ontario’s component of the Provincial Nominee Program, which allows provinces to select a number of economic immigrants based on their needs. However, Quebec is not one of them.
Over the past four years, the Ontario government has chosen only 13% of the economic immigrants who have settled on its territory; in 2021, the province selected only 5% of all newcomers. Monte McNaughton would like to see this proportion increase, given the economic situation in Ontario. “The number of unfilled jobs is climbing every month,” said the minister over the phone. The number has risen from 340,000 when he was sworn in at the end of May to 378,000 today, he said.
The Canada-Ontario immigration agreement expires in November, and the Minister of Labor wants to sign an agreement as soon as possible to remedy the situation. Monte McNaughton would like to increase the number of newcomers and improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. In the short term, he would also like to see the selection threshold drop from 9,750 to 18,000. The labor shortage “has a significant impact on our GDP”, says the elected official, who affirms that sectors such as education must be funded.
Monte McNaughton, to whom Prime Minister Doug Ford added the Immigration portfolio during the swearing-in of the new cabinet of ministers, was able to meet with Quebec Labor Minister Jean Boulet on June 30. It was Minister McNaughton who contacted his counterpart to organize the call. “We are pleased that Ontario wishes to draw inspiration from our system, which demonstrates its relevance,” says Maude Méthot-Faniel, Minister Boulet’s press officer.
Ontario’s goal of achieving autonomy in the selection of economic immigrants is, however, “unrealistic”, according to Kareem El-Assal, the site’s policy director. CanadaVisa.com. The province could leave the Provincial Nominee Program, but it would not be in its interests, he says. And by asking for a drastic increase in the allowance, Ontario would put the federal government in an embarrassment, since other provinces would make the same request, thinks Kareem El-Assal.
The federal government has already set its targets for the Provincial Nominee Program over the next three years. They amount to 83,500 newcomers this year and 86,000 in 2023. Asked if an increase in Ontario’s allocation — the largest in the country — would mean that other provinces would decrease, Monte McNaughton replied that the provinces agree that they would like to have more power and greater power of selection.
Call for change
The minister can count several Ontario organizations on his side. On Tuesday, the Toronto Board of Trade lent its support to Minister McNaughton in his campaign to obtain a nearly doubled threshold for the selection of economic immigrants. The labor shortage is “critical” and “growing” in Toronto, the chamber of commerce said. The Ontario Building Council is also on board.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce President Rocco Rossi goes further and wonders why the province doesn’t get a 40% allocation, the province’s approximate contribution to the Canadian economy. This would go against the national interests of the Provincial Nominee Program, notes Kareem El-Assal. Some provinces depend almost entirely on the program to attract immigrants.
According to Patrick McManus, president of the Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance — a group of construction associations — the province is better positioned to respond to local and immigration needs, however. “Something has to change. The Quebec model is ideal,” he says.