For minister Sean Fraser, immigration is more than just anumbers game

ON THE OFF CHANCE you overhear a Canadian bragging, it’s usually to say that this is the greatest country in the world.

-  DARREN CALABRESE

It might violate our national modesty policy to add that we’re now also one of the most desirable, but the data’s there: in 2022, we welcomed close to a million newcomers (a record) and, a year prior, unseated the U.S. as the number-one destination for international workers. People want to come to Canada, and Canada really wants them here.

In June, staring down the ongoing labour shortage, the federal government announced a revamped federal express entry system, complete with shiny new expedited pathways to permanent residency for U.S. H-1B visa holders and immigrants with sought-aer expertise in fields like health care, tech and, crucially, the trades. The man responsible for delivering on the government’s ambitious target—500,000 annually by 2025—is Sean Fraser, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship.

Fraser, a trained lawyer and loyal Nova Scotian, spent his whole life watching talent flee his home province for more promising opportunities elsewhere. Even as his office faces a backlog 800,000 applications deep—and newly urgent questions about Canada’s livability, thanks in part to our bonkers housing market—Fraser remains convinced that this is the place to be.

According to Statistics Canada’s “population clock,” Canada hit 40 million people just before 3 p.m. EST on Friday, June 16. Where were you when you heard the news?

I think I saw it on social media at some point; I wasn’t tracking it. My mind is on whether people get reunited with families and whether businesses can access workers.

So no plaque? No balloons?