Archives

Pierre Poilievre has voiced major criticisms of the current government’s immigration policies, suggesting that he might table major reforms if he were to become the next prime minister of Canada.

With Justin Trudeau having announced his resignation on January 6,  Poilievre is a top contender for Canada’s next prime minister after the 2025 election.

In this article, we’ll provide a breakdown of what Poilievre has said about immigration over the years, including on topics such as

• The role that economic immigrants play in providing workers to Canadian businesses;
• The ease of foreign-trained professionals becoming accredited to practice their professions in Canada;
• Alleged abuses of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) by employers;
• Tying immigration admissions targets to Canada’s housing supply;
• Increasing border security;
• Cracking down on alleged illegitimate asylum claims; and
• The cultural integration of newcomers into Canadian society.

Background

Poilievre was first elected to the House of Commons following the 2004 federal elections.

After holding different parliamentary secretary posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he served as the Minister for Democratic Reform (2013–2015) and was the Minister of Employment and Social Development in 2015.

As Minister of Employment and Social Development, Poilievre was largely aligned with his party’s centrist approach to immigration, emphasizing the need for immigrants to fill labour shortage and contribute to the Canadian economy.

On September 10, 2022, he was voted leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

On economic immigration

As Minister of Employment and Social Development, Poilievre has generally supported economic immigration to fill Canada’s labour shortages.

In 2015, for example, he announced the funding of projects that would see internationally trained doctors and engineers integrate more quickly in the Canadian job market.

Over the last few years, he has repeatedly talked about streamlining processes and licensing requirements, specifically for in-demand occupations, to help meet labour market needs.

In a press conference in August 2023, Poilievre stated he would focus on housing by speeding up entry for immigrants in the building trades.

He said that a Conservative government would shape its immigration policy around

• the demands of private-sector employers;
• the level of support planned by charities for refugees; and
• family reunification.

Most recently, after the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27 announcement in October 2024, Poilievre floated the idea of creating a national licensing standard for the healthcare sector.

“Provinces can voluntarily adopt a blue seal so immigrant doctors and nurses can take a test, get qualified and get to work, reducing wait times in hospitals,” he suggested.

On the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

While he has expressed support for economic immigration, Poilievre has called for reforms of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

In 2015, as Minister of Employment and Social Development, he announced new penalties for employers abusing the TFWP. At the same time, he made a statement about how Canadians deserved first preference when it comes to available jobs.

“The purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is exactly that – to be temporary. Canadians rightly expect to get first crack at available jobs,” a joint statement by Poilievre and Canada’s then Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, read.

In 2024, he doubled down on this message, saying he would curb the government’s TFWP as well as international student programs.

In a speech on August 29, 2024, he said that, if he were to become prime minister, he would find a way to ensure that the TFWP would be used “exclusively to fill jobs that Canadians cannot or do not fill, like in agricultural sectors, but never to replace Canadians or drive down wages.”

Note: A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) confirms the need for a foreign worker by showing that no Canadian or permanent resident is available to fill a position. Employers must obtain one before hiring a foreign national through the TFWP.

Poilievre’s comments suggest he believes that the LMIA system is not being used appropriately, and that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has been issuing positive LMIAs even when Canadian citizens and permanent residents are available to do the job.

Note: Over the course of 2024, the federal government announced several initiatives to scale back the TFWP. These include

• The suspension of processing of LMIAs for the low-wage stream of the TFWP in CMAs with unemployment rates of 6% or higher (implemented September 26, 2024); and
• An increase in wage requirements for the high-wage stream of the TFWP (November 8, 2024).

On immigration targets

In an August 2023 press conference, Poilievre stated that Canada’s immigration system was broken.

He announced that a Conservative government would base its immigration policy on factors such as the needs of employers. At the time, he side-stepped questions about cutting immigration targets.

In 2024, Poilievre began floating the idea of tying immigration levels to homebuilding.

“We need to make a link between the number of homes built and the number of people we invite as new Canadians,” he said during a press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on January 12, 2024.

In the months that followed he also stated that the immigration numbers would be much lower if he were to become prime minister.

In August 2024, he said he would cut population growth as prime minister.

He reiterated that a future Conservative government would look at tying the country’s population growth rate to a level that’s below the number of new homes being built. He also said they would consider factors such as access to healthcare and jobs when considering immigration targets.

“If you want an idea of how I would run the immigration system overall, it’s the way it was run for 30 years prior to Trudeau being Prime Minister,” he said.

On October 24, the federal government released the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27, cutting immigration targets. The government said they intend these cuts to immigration levels to result in a negative population growth of 0.2 in both 2025 and 2026, before returning to a population growth of 0.8 in 2027.

Poilievre called this policy change a “massive admission of failure” by Trudeau and questioned whether the current government, if re-elected, would be able to cut the numbers as per the plan.

Despite the fact that targets have already been slashed, Poilievre reiterated his opinion that Canada has to “slow down the numbers” in a long form interview with Jordan Peterson, recorded in December 2024, alluding to more cuts.

“There’s no doubt about it. We have to end the fraud of the international student and the Temporary Foreign Worker programs,” said Poilievre. “We have to get back to the best system in the world, which we had for 150 years,” he said, without elaborating on any numbers.

On border security

Poilievre has often been vocal about illegal border crossings.

For example, in 2023, he advocated for the closing of Roxham Road to discourage irregular crossings.

Irregular crossing is an issue he has been increasingly vocal about after Trump won the US election.

On November 28, 2024, he questioned Marc Miller on what would happen if the people in Canada illegally decided to immigrate south of the border, thus “provoking a massive retaliatory response” from the US.

He has also called for increased security measures such as patrols and technology to cut down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as the tightening of visa rules, in a press conference in December.

Poilievre has also voiced some skepticism over refugee claims, and suggested a cap on the number of asylum seekers.

“I love real refugees,” Poilievre said. “Our country was built in large part by real refugees who were genuinely fleeing danger, like my wife. But I have no time for people who lie to come into our country, and that is the problem we have to cut off.”

Poilievre’s wife, Anaida Poilievre, came to Canada as a refugee from Venezuela.

On values and integration

After being voted Conservative party leader, Poilievre made outreach efforts to new Canadians and immigrants, by attending cultural events. He has also talked about how Conservative values aligned with immigrant values.

In the recent interview with Jordan Peterson, he suggested newcomers should “leave their problems at the door” when immigrating, hinting at more cultural integration being required.

“We’re not interested in the world’s ethno-cultural conflicts. We welcome the people who come from places that have been afflicted by war, as long as they leave the war behind,” he said.

If you choose to use a professional immigration representative, you should ensure that your representative is legally authorized to act in that capacity.

Even in the face of strict rules and fines for offenders, newcomers to Canada are often targeted by immigration scams from fraudulent consultants and representatives.

The rate of incidence is high enough that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada even devotes an entire month (March) every year to fraud prevention.

Newcomers who employ a licensed immigration representative can take steps to verify the authenticity of their credentials. This article will cover the definition of an immigration representative, before detailing procedures that you can take to confirm the authenticity of their immigration lawyer or consultant.

Consult with an experienced immigration representative

What is an immigration representative?

An immigration representative is an individual who assists you (a newcomer) with your immigration case. These individuals perform tasks such as

• Providing advice on best practices and next steps in your immigration journey;
• Completing forms on your behalf;
• Communicating with IRCC and other immigration officials on your behalf; and
• Representing you in official immigration hearings.

If you use an immigration representative, you must declare this on your immigration application, using the appropriate form.

Who can be an immigration representative?

Representatives can be paid or unpaid. Under Canadian law, any person (for example, a friend or family member) can legally act as your immigration representative, provided that they do not receive any compensation in exchange.

Paid immigration representatives, on the other hand, must be legally authorized under Canadian law to act in that capacity. Paid representatives must be authorized by the relevant regulatory body.

You must always declare your use of a representative, paid or unpaid.

Using an unauthorized paid representative, or failing to declare your use of a representative, can lead to a refusal of your immigration application.

Only the following professionals can legally act as paid representatives in Canada:

• Lawyers and paralegals licensed by a provincial or territorial law society;
• Citizenship and immigration consultants licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants; and
• Notaries licensed by the Chambre des notaries du Québec.

The remainder of the article will focus on how to verify the credentials of the above professionals. If the paid representative you are considering hiring is not a member in good standing of the relevant regulatory body, you should not to use their services.

How to verify the authenticity of your representative

The source you should refer to in order to check registration will depend on whether your paid representative is

• A lawyer or paralegal;
• A citizenship or immigration consultant; or
• A notary.

Immigration lawyers and paralegals

You can navigate to IRCC’s webpage to see a full list of law societies for every province and territory.

From here, select the relevant legal society from the links in the list presented. This will take you to that legal society’s directory page, where you can check the representative’s registration.

You will be prompted to enter information about your immigration lawyer or paralegal to confirm their registration, such as

• their name;
• their law society registration number;
• their current status with the law society;
• their designation (lawyer or paralegal); and
• the city they operate in.

If your representative is authorized by their regional law society, you should be able to see them listed and to verify that they are currently a member in good standing. Due to the fact that Law Society websites are structured differently and provide somewhat differing information, the following table outlines some key areas to pay attention to on each Law Society webpage:

Law society	Key areas
Law Society of Alberta	– Current citations; – Discipline history; – Current restrictions.
Law Society of British Columbia	– Current status (should say “practicing”); – Current practicing restrictions; – Discipline history since 1983.
Law Society of Manitoba	– Firm; – Status (should say “practicing”).
Law Society of New Brunswick	– Status (should say “practicing”); – Insurance status (should say “insured”).
Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador	– Practicing status (should say “practicing”); – Roll (should show registration number).
Law Society of the Northwest Territories	– Roll number; – Membership type; – Membership status.
Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society	– Member type (should say “practicing lawyer”); – Member #.
Law Society of Nunavut	– Practicing status (should say “Regular-Active Membership”)
Law Society of Ontario	– License type (lawyer or paralegal); – Law Society Number.
Law Society of Prince Edward Island	– Membership status (should say “practicing”)
Law Society of Yukon	– Membership status (should say “resident lawyer”, “non-resident lawyer”, or “certificate of permission to act”; – Discipline history in Yukon; – Certificate expiry date (if applicable).

If your representative’s credentials or registration do not show up after a search, or if you require further information, you can also call the law society directly to inquire further.

Citizenship and immigration consultants

Citizenship and immigration consultants in Canada must be registered with the College of Citizenship and Immigration Consultants.

The college runs its own directory page, where you can check the credentials of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCIC) and Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs).

Simply enter the relevant information of your consultant in the fields to check their registration and standing with the college. If your consultant is found, the webpage will display their name, college ID, profile, company, license type, and whether they are entitled to practice.

Only RCICs and RISIAs with an “active” status and who are marked “Yes” under the entitled to practice column may legally provide paid immigration advice or services.

Licences provided by the college range from “Class L1” to “Class L6”. A breakdown of each licence, and what it entitles an immigration consultant to do can be found on the college’s website.

Notaries

Notaries must be authorized by the Chambre des notaries du Québec.

To check whether your notary is licensed, visit the Chambre des notaries du Québec directory page.

From here you can input the relevant information in the fields provided and search for your notary.

Within Canada, the professional designation of notary is specific to Quebec.

Declaring your use of a representative

If you are using the services of an immigration representative (whether paid or unpaid) you must declare this to IRCC.

You can declare your representative using the “use of a representative form,” available on IRCC’s website. Your representative can fill out this form for you, but you must ensure that all information is accurate and validate the form with your signature.

If you have not applied yet, you must include the use of a representative form with your complete application.

If you have decided to use an immigration representative after applying, you must complete the above form and send it to IRCC electronically using the online web form.

If you would like to cancel the use of a representative, this must also be declared to IRCC by filling out the relevant fields of the “use of a representative form” and submitting it through the department’s web form.

Benefits of using a professional representative

It’s important to understand that using a representative does not guarantee any advantage in the processing of your application. If you submit the exact same application with or without a representative, there will be no priority given to one over the other, and your application will not be processed any faster.

Representatives do not have any special influence over the decision-making process, nor do they possess any “superpowers” to speed up approvals.

That said, there are many other reasons you may wish to use a representative. An experienced professional representative can save you time and help you avoid pitfalls in navigating the complex and often confusing Canadian immigration system. A licensed representative can assist you in strengthening your application, ensuring that all necessary documentation is included, correctly filled out, and well-organized. Their expertise can significantly reduce the risk of errors or mistakes that could lead to delays or even refusal of your application.

Additionally, working with a representative can save you time and effort by handling tasks that might otherwise be tedious or overwhelming, such as tracking deadlines, preparing required forms, and communicating with immigration authorities. The support of a qualified and experienced immigration representative can reduce stress and help ensure your application is as strong as possible, increasing your chances of success.

Currently, it’s possible for temporary foreign workers on closed work permits to start a new job before being issued a new work permit, due to a temporary public policy introduced during the Covid-19 era.

Prior to the introduction of this temporary public policy, workers on closed work permits would need to wait for their new work permit application to be approved before changing employers — meaning that it could take many months for them to change jobs.

In 2020, the federal government introduced a temporary policy allowing foreign workers in Canada to start work for a new employer even before getting a new work permit approved.

Who is eligible?

In order to be eligible, a foreign national must:

• Be in Canada with valid temporary resident status (this includes a maintained status);
• Have held a valid work permit, or have been authorized to work without a work permit when their application for a new work permit or work permit renewal was submitted;
• Have submitted a work application or be renewing an application for an employer-specific work permit (for which a decision has not yet been made);
• Intend to work for the new employer as specified on the job offer;
• Have applied for the public policy exemption, as identified by the department (details on the process below); and
• Have requested the exemption to be applicable until a decision is made on their work permit application.

If I’m eligible, what exemptions apply to me?

Foreign nationals who are eligible will be exempted from certain Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations:

• The condition to not work unless authorized (by Part 9 or 11 of the Regulations);
• Following the conditions on their work permit regarding the type of work, employer, and times and periods of work they’re permitted to engage in, or prohibited from doing, in Canada;
• The requirement to be authorized to work in Canada by a work permit or the Regulations; and
• Providing biometrics for a new work permit application or work permit renewal, if their local Service Canada office isn’t collecting them due to COVID-19.

This temporary public policy mainly benefits foreign nationals who:

• Are on maintained status (previously called implied status) who are bound to the conditions imposed on their expired work permit, prohibiting them from moving to a new occupation or employer;
• Hold a valid work permit that limits them to an employer (closed work permit); or
• Are work-permit exempt but require a work permit for a new occupation or employer.

How do I apply?

A foreign national must submit their application for an employer-specific work permit from inside Canada (IMM 5710).

When filling out the “your enquiry” section of the IRCC web form, applicants need to copy specific text that applies to their situation. Full samples of the message for work permit holders changing jobs or employers, or work permit-exempt workers.

Once you’ve submitted the application

Officers will review the public policy consideration.

They may reject it if it doesn’t include:

• A request for assessment; or
• Sufficient information to confirm the receipt of an employer-specific work permit application.

Those who have submitted the application by web form can expect an email in roughly 10-15 days. Applying by paper may take more time to receive this email.

The email will let applicants know if they are authorized to work while their work permit application is being processed.

NOTE: If the work permit application is incomplete, the processing officer will give the applicant 30 days to provide additional information. They will also provide a public policy assessment decision (either positive or negative) as a reply to the IRCC Webform email and add a case note on their decision.

Why was this temporary public policy introduced?

This policy was launched during the pandemic to:

• help temporary foreign workers who are in Canada start new jobs quicker while waiting on their work permit applications being processed; and
• ensure their work permit applications are finalized so they are better protected under employer compliance regulations.

This policy is in effect as of January, 14 2025. As with all temporary public policies, it can be revoked at any time without notice.