Canada

More than one in five residents in Canada was born in another country, making it one of the world's top destinations for international migrants. From its migration policymaking aimed at identifying and recruiting workers needed by the Canadian economy, to its immigrant integration policies, and efforts to recruit skilled migrants and international students, the research collected here focuses on the diverse policies, practices, and trends that Canada is experiencing.

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Commentaries

Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy is highly unusual for its explicit targeting of visa holders in another country. Opening a dedicated stream specifically for high-skilled immigrants in the United States who hold an H-1B visa is the latest salvo in a growing global competition for talent—one in which some countries are racing ahead of the United States in terms of policy dynamism, as this commentary explores.

Recent Activity

Multimedia March 31, 2020 Expert Podcast: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19	Commentaries March 2020 A Race Against the Clock: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19 By Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz
Articles March 11, 2020 As Governments Build Advanced Surveillance Systems to Push Borders Out, Will Travel and Migration Become Unequal for Some Groups? By Carlyn Greenfield	Commentaries March 2020 Coronavirus Is Spreading across Borders, But It Is Not a Migration Problem By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Meghan Benton and Susan Fratzke
Reports January 2020 Beyond Work: Reducing Social Isolation for Refugee Women and Other Marginalized Newcomers By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan	Policy Briefs December 2019 Refugee Sponsorship Programs: A Global State of Play and Opportunities for Investment By Susan Fratzke, Lena Kainz, Hanne Beirens, Emma Dorst and Jessica Bolter
Reports November 2019 Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration? By Susan Fratzke and Emma Dorst	Reports November 2019 Creating a Home in Canada: Refugee Housing Challenges and Potential Policy Solutions By Damaris Rose

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Reports November 2013 Building New Skills: Immigration and Workforce Development in Canada By Karen Myers and Natalie Conte	Books July 2013 How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda
Reports July 2013 Recognizing Foreign Qualifications: Emerging Global Trends By Lesleyanne Hawthorne	Reports July 2013 Tackling Brain Waste: Strategies to Improve the Recognition of Immigrants’ Foreign Qualifications By Madeleine Sumption
Books November 2012 Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration	Reports July 2012 Understanding 'Canadian Exceptionalism' in Immigration and Pluralism Policy By Irene Bloemraad
Books June 2012 Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners in Home and Host Countries By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland	Reports May 2012 The Relationship Between Immigration and Nativism in Europe and North America By Cas Mudde

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Top Ten

December 4, 2008

Warming up to Circular Migration?

Circular migration means a continuing, long-term pattern of international mobility. The European Union set up two pilot programs in 2008 that seek to facilitate this type of movement.

Top Ten

December 3, 2007

Integration Means Belonging

All the nuanced meanings of "belonging" describe integration trends in industrialized countries in 2007, including the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Feature

November 12, 2007

Canada's Temporary Migration Program: A Model Despite Flaws

In response to an agricultural worker shortage over 40 years ago, Canada initiated a temporary migration program to brings workers from the Caribbean and later Mexico. But this "model" program also has its drawbacks, as Tanya Basok of the University of Windsor explains.

Feature

May 18, 2007

Selecting Economic Stream Immigrants through Points Systems

The U.S. Congress is considering a bill that includes a points system for permanent immigration. MPI's Demetrios G. Papademetriou outlines how points systems work, which countries have used them, their political benefits, and trends in points-system use.

Feature

April 1, 2006

Canada: A Northern Refuge for Central Americans

Although most Central American refugees sought protection in the United States, Canada admitted thousands of Central American refugees in the 1980s. María Cristina García of Cornell University takes a detailed look at Central Americans in Canada

Recent Activity

Reports

April 2022

Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility?

Digital health credentials that verify a person’s COVID-19 vaccination, testing, or recovery status are a central part of efforts to restart international travel and migration. This report explores these credentials’ use to date and persistent challenges, including those related to international coordination and technical compatibility between systems. It also recommends strategies to more fully leverage their potential and make them more inclusive.

Commentaries

April 2022

Beyond the Border: Opportunities for Managing Regional Migration between Central and North America

With migration from Central America increasing, the region from Canada to Panama faces an opportunity to build an effective regional approach to migration by focusing on several areas that are ripe for significant policy innovation. This commentary sketches a vision, offering a road map to more detailed research that outlines strategies for cooperation on legal pathways, humanitarian protection, migration management, and sustainable development.

Articles

February 2, 2022

The Increasing Use of Artificial Intelligence in Border Zones Prompts Privacy Questions

Artificial intelligence systems that promise speedier travel and improved tools to halt smuggling and detect illegal entry have been embraced by border officials across the globe. But critics contend they also pose serious privacy concerns, which may become more pronounced as technologies evolve. This article examines the challenges and promises.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 24, 2021

Thinking Regionally to Act Locally in Immigration Policy

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas, the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management should be viewed in a regional context. This requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries in North and Central America, and beyond, as MPI President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco in this episode of our World of Migration podcast.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 5, 2021

Immigrant Integration: Essential to the Success of Immigration Policy

In this World of Migration podcast episode, Margie McHugh, director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, chats with Ivana Tú Nhi Giang about the important role of integration, for immigrants themselves and the broader society, and the varying degrees of intentionality in integration policy design around the world.

Commentaries

October 2021

As the United States Lifts Travel Restrictions, Its New Vaccination Requirements Could Shape the Future of Global Mobility

The U.S. decision to lift border restrictions for fully vaccinated international travelers represents the latest move by governments around the world to loosen COVID-19-era travel restrictions. Yet it underscores a major policy shift that has gone almost unnoticed: with vaccination moving from being a fast track to travel to becoming a required ticket. This raises significant equity and technical considerations, as this commentary explores.

Articles

September 17, 2021

The Changing Concepts around Immigrant Integration

Immigrant integration is a complicated process that cannot fully be measured by any single metric. Understandings of immigrant integration have changed over time, and this article explores how the methods of measuring integration outcomes have evolved alongside these changing frameworks.

Reports

September 2021

Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth

The number of people who have been forcibly displaced has grown to unprecedented levels. While the global refugee protection regime has come under incredible strain as a result, states have also shown creativity in the design of resettlement programs and complementary pathways. This report takes stock of these programs worldwide, identifies opportunities to scale them up, and assesses barriers that have hindered growth.

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