A new program revealed by Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller, to help undocumented immigrants stay and apply for permanent residency in Canada.
Explore ways to regulate workers' status in Canada
Since the Prime Minister's recent mandate, the Department of Immigration has sought to continue exploring ways to regulate the status of undocumented workers who contribute to Canadian communities.
Apply for permanent residence in Canada
It is worth noting that the Canadian Minister of Immigration confirmed in an interview that this new program will enable undocumented immigrants, including people who have Canadian children and have lived in the country for several years, to apply for permanent residency.
Talks continue in the Council of Ministers about the plan
For his part, Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller made clear in statements during an interview that the federal program to grant immigrants who do not have valid papers the right to stay in Canada will not be issued anytime soon as talks continue in the Cabinet about the plan, which some of his colleagues strongly oppose.
Minister Miller presents the proposal to Cabinet
It is worth noting that Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller has presented the new proposal, which will include allowing rejected asylum seekers and former foreign students with expired study permits to apply to remain in Canada to the Council of Ministers before MPs begin their summer vacation.
Canadians are divided on the issue
It is also noteworthy that Minister Miller had previously clarified that the program “is not something that will be introduced soon,” adding that opinion polls show that Canadians are divided on this issue.
Freezing the immigration target to Canada at 500,000
It is worth noting that public support for immigration to Canada has declined sharply, as Miller has frozen the immigration target at 500,000 in 2026, in addition to setting a cap on foreign students.
600,000 undocumented immigrants in Canada
Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller explained to his mother that according to different estimates of the number of people living in Canada without valid documents, he said that it is possible that there are between 300,000 and 600,000, but no one actually knows.
It is also worth noting that a number of other countries have introduced programs related to protecting illegal immigrants from deportation. In Ireland, for example, a program was launched in 2022 for a period of six months, and gave people who had lived there for four years the opportunity to apply for permission to remain.