“We are making it easier for foreign doctors, researchers, and students to stay in Canada. This will bring top talent here and grow our economy.”

“Mr. Chair, I thank the member for London Centre for his tremendous work and for being a super parliamentary secretary. He works extremely hard for his constituents and for Canadians on this file. Let me talk a bit about talent attraction, about what exactly we are doing and why these estimates are so important. We are prioritizing top international talent through new ways for doctors with work experience here to apply for permanent residency. We have, through my work on the file, which is something I did at the Nova Scotia level back in 2018, dedicated an express entry stream for surgeons, physicians and clinical specialists with 12 months of Canadian work experience. The first round happened in February, a couple of months ago. We have already issued 391 invitations to apply. In addition, we have allocated to provinces and territories an unprecedented number of up to 5,000 additional nomination spaces to support practice-ready physicians through the provincial nominee programs. We are also developing an accelerated pathway for H-1B visa holders, removing the attestation letter requirement for graduate students, launching a targeted pilot for high-value immigrant entrepreneurs, fast-tracking processing for Ph.D. students and creating pathways for researchers. With our new talent attraction strategy, we are going to recruit more than 1,000 highly qualified researchers and give them the resources they need to drive innovation here at home and build the Canadian economy of tomorrow. This work is already under way, and I work very closely with other departments. Canadians expect us to attract the best and the brightest to build a strong, competitive economy. That is exactly what we are doing, and we will continue to do that. These initiatives add to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s $1.7-billion Canada global impact+ research talent initiative to recruit, as I said, over 1,000 world-leading researchers. Let me end by saying that we have a plan. The plan is working. The facts are there. I am very excited for this country for the next months and years to come. There is a lot of work that is happening, and I encourage all young people and all Canadians to partake in it.”

“I support the immigration budget. Immigration helps our economy and fills jobs in places like Halifax, but it must be managed carefully. This spending funds basic immigration work, health care, and temporary housing for newcomers. I want the minister to explain how this money will help newcomer services and speed up processing times in places like Halifax.”

“Mr. Chair, I am very pleased to rise today to discuss Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s 2026-27 main estimates, especially because the hon. minister, the member for Halifax West, is my riding neighbour and has been an incredible support to me and members of the Nova Scotia caucus in our first year here in the House of Commons. Immigration is a critical part of what makes Canada stand out. It fills labour gaps, grows businesses and bolsters sectors like health care. In municipalities like Halifax, we see this every day in growing sectors such as ocean tech and shipbuilding that depend on skilled newcomers. Newcomers bring energy, ideas and global connections that enrich our communities, and I very much enjoy spending a lot of my time in the riding with them on a regular basis. Immigration is also central to our government’s plan to build strength at home amid a rupture in the global order. A strong system depends on clear rules, reliable screening, secure processing and public confidence. These estimates strike the right balance. They reflect responsible, sustainable use of public funds while maintaining the core work Canadians expect from their immigration system. They ensure that public dollars match the system Canada is building. First, they maintain the essential capacity needed to run the system. Second, they adjust funding where volumes are lower or temporary measures are ending. Third, they target support where capacity, integrity and stability are needed most. The estimates support the implementation of Canada’s multi-year immigration levels plan, which guides permanent resident admissions, temporary resident arrivals and the balance across immigration categories. We are maintaining targeted supports where the system needs them. This includes helping protected persons already in Canada transition to permanent residents, supporting workers already here and contributing to labour needs in communities across the country. The estimates also support the interim federal health program, which provides temporary health care coverage to eligible people who do not yet have access to provincial or territorial insurance. This program helps bridge the gap so people can access essential services when they need them the most. Many in my riding of Halifax rely on this program, and I am very pleased to see its continued support. The estimates also support the interim housing assistance program, which helps provinces and municipalities respond to temporary housing pressures linked to asylum claimants. This is a clear example of prioritizing the responsible use of public funds. As global conflicts, climate pressures and shifting migration patterns continue to displace people, Canada must respond with compassion and with a system that is orderly, fair and sustainable. A sustainable system must still support people in need, work with partners and maintain the services that help newcomers integrate and help communities respond to pressure. In Halifax, organizations like the Immigration Services Association of Nova Scotia, or ISANS, demonstrate how strong community partnerships help newcomers settle successfully. Canadians need to know that immigration is being managed carefully and strategically, that resources are being used for clear purposes and that the department is adapting as immigration levels, operational pressures and public expectations evolve. These estimates do precisely that. I will move on to a question for the minister. The 2026-27 main estimates show that our government is committed to continued support for IRCC operations and newcomer services as we find a more responsible and sustainable path forward. Can the minister explain how the planned spending will support newcomer services in places like Halifax to ensure families benefit from timely processing?”

“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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“Our bill protects the value of Canadian citizenship by setting clear rules for passing it down to children born abroad.”

“Mr. Chair, with Bill C-3, this government acted to protect the value of Canadian citizenship by putting in clear rules in terms of descent—”

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“A lot of people are interested and applying, but that does not mean they will all get citizenship.”

“Again, Mr. Chair, there is high interest, in the media and everywhere else, by people who are interested, but high interest and even applications do not necessarily mean people are getting citizenship.”

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“This bill creates clear, strict rules for passing Canadian citizenship to children born abroad, while protecting the value of our citizenship.”

“Mr. Chair, as I said, Bill C-3 provides clarity, structure and control to citizenship by descent, and there are also strong safeguards to uphold the integrity of citizenship.”

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“Just because people want to come to Canada does not mean they can. We have clear rules, and we are watching the effects of them.”

“Mr. Chair, again, I am delighted that everybody wants to come to Canada, but just because they want to come and are expressing their delight in coming, it does not mean they are going to be able to come. There are clear rules in place, and we are monitoring the impact.”

“The department is watching this issue. This bill does not give everyone Canadian citizenship through their family. People must prove their family history for every generation when they apply.”

“Mr. Chair, as I said, the department is monitoring that. Bill C-3 does not create unlimited access to Canadian citizenship by descent. People have to provide proof of ancestry for every generation in the application.”

“Canadian citizenship must be protected. People must follow clear rules and steps to get it.”

“Mr. Chair, the integrity of Canadian citizenship is paramount. There are clear, identifiable steps people have to adhere to, follow and abide by in order to even get to that step.”

“Our record shows that we are managing immigration well. Asylum claims have dropped, and the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms that the number of temporary residents is going down just as we promised.”

“Mr. Chair, again, I believe that the record shows that we are managing migration. It shows the decrease of asylum. It shows that the temporary resident population has decreased as we said it would decrease, and the PBO has confirmed that.”

“Applying for citizenship does not mean someone actually gets it. The department is watching this, and the numbers are not that high.”

“Mr. Chair, again, as I said, applications do not necessarily mean and do not equate to people receiving citizenship. The department is monitoring that, and we are not seeing those types of numbers.”

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