Discussion · Government Orders
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal
“Our spending plan targets immigration to help Canada's economy. We are making it easier and faster for top international researchers, graduate students, and their families to come here.”
“Mr. Chair, first, let me commend the member for Halifax and let her know how much I enjoy working alongside her in her constituency and also right here in Ottawa. She is a passionate leader who has already done a tremendous amount of work for the municipality of Halifax prior to entering federal politics, or any politics for that matter, and who understands the value that newcomers bring to our province. The member spoke very eloquently, and she understands that newcomers support our businesses and public services, but we need to be targeted in economic immigration to meet Canada’s needs as well. That is exactly why the 2026-27 estimates continue to support an immigration system that is more strategic, more targeted and more aligned with Canada’s economic priorities. Because I know Halifax very well, I know the member represents a number of post-secondary educational institutions. We know Canada has world-class educational institutions, and our diverse, welcoming society makes Canada a destination of choice. I would like to spend a little time here making sure people understand what we are doing for Ph.D. students and graduate students through these estimates, that is, attracting leading international researchers to Canada as part of our talent attraction strategy to welcome over 1,000 researchers across all career stages to Canada. What we have also done in 2026 is introduce new measures to attract talent at the master’s level as well as the Ph.D. level; to expedite the processing for eligible Ph.D. students and their families, if they have young kids or families; and to exempt certain master’s and doctoral degree students from the provincial or territorial attestation letter requirements. We have launched new web resources. It is all available online to help prospective graduate students decide whether or not Canada is the right choice for them. I invite them to take a look and make those decisions. I know how difficult it is when people are making the decision to leave one country and come to another, particularly to pursue higher education, a Ph.D. or research work. I would advise them to please do the homework, as they say, pre-arrival and take a look at that. What we want to do is attract the best and the brightest talent to our country, and we are working extremely hard to do that.”
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Mr. Chair, first, let me commend the member for Halifax and let her know how much I enjoy working alongside her in her constituency and also right here in Ottawa. She is a passionate leader who has already done a tremendous amount of work for the municipality of Halifax prior to entering federal politics, or any politics for that matter, and who understands the value that newcomers bring to our province. The member spoke very eloquently, and she understands that newcomers support our businesses and public services, but we need to be targeted in economic immigration to meet Canada’s needs as well. That is exactly why the 2026-27 estimates continue to support an immigration system that is more strategic, more targeted and more aligned with Canada’s economic priorities. Because I know Halifax very well, I know the member represents a number of post-secondary educational institutions. We know Canada has world-class educational institutions, and our diverse, welcoming society makes Canada a destination of choice. I would like to spend a little time here making sure people understand what we are doing for Ph.D. students and graduate students through these estimates, that is, attracting leading international researchers to Canada as part of our talent attraction strategy to welcome over 1,000 researchers across all career stages to Canada. What we have also done in 2026 is introduce new measures to attract talent at the master’s level as well as the Ph.D. level; to expedite the processing for eligible Ph.D. students and their families, if they have young kids or families; and to exempt certain master’s and doctoral degree students from the provincial or territorial attestation letter requirements. We have launched new web resources. It is all available online to help prospective graduate students decide whether or not Canada is the right choice for them. I invite them to take a look and make those decisions. I know how difficult it is when people are making the decision to leave one country and come to another, particularly to pursue higher education, a Ph.D. or research work. I would advise them to please do the homework, as they say, pre-arrival and take a look at that. What we want to do is attract the best and the brightest talent to our country, and we are working extremely hard to do that.