Albertans want greater control over immigration, says policy proposal
United Conservative members called on Premier Danielle Smith to negotiate an 'accord' with the feds to give Alberta 'better control' over immigration.
Alberta’s United Conservatives want the province to exert greater control on immigration, reads a policy proposal for the party’s annual general meeting. Premier Danielle Smith has relayed her dissatisfaction with the Trudeau government repeatedly over “unrestricted” immigration.
“I am joining with other premiers across our country in calling on the current federal government to immediately reintroduce sensible and restrained immigration policies similar to levels we saw under Stephen Harper,” the premier said during a September 17 address.
“And if the current federal government won’t make these changes, our government will certainly support anyone that will,” she added at the time.
Until recently, the feds endorsed an Immigration Levels Plan that pledged 500,000 permanent residents next year, and 500,000 more in 2026.
This year’s Plan will specifically cut back the number of permanent residents Canada plans to accept through 2027, from 485,000 this year to 395,000 in 2025. It also plans to cut numbers to 380,000 in 2026 and to 365,000 in 2027.
Though a shared area of jurisdiction, members called on Premier Smith to negotiate with the federal government an “accord” that gives the province “better control” over who is permitted into Alberta. The non-binding proposal does not necessitate legislation.
“As Québec has asserted its right to define and to protect its cultural heritage and has a role in determining the total numbers of immigrants allowed into the province, Alberta is equally entitled to define and protect our own unique heritage, and we only need to assert that right to improve our quality of life,” reads the policy proposal.
“Such an assertion will allow us to protect the share of resource royalties our descendants inherit, maintain higher wages, preserve our voting power, protect the values that Albertans hold today, and claim rights equal to those claimed by other provinces,” it adds.
Québec Premier Francois Legault earlier announced a six-month freeze on temporary foreign worker applications in Montreal, which have more than doubled to 600,000 persons over the past two years. It also suspended two major pathways to permanent residency.
According to Legault, more than two-thirds of Quebec's non-permanent residents are under federal jurisdiction. The province is urging Ottawa to reduce their numbers by half, from 420,000 to 210,000.
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The Department of Immigration said last month it plans to reduce temporary resident numbers from 6.5% of the total Canadian population to 5% over the next three years. Their numbers exploded to 7.3% earlier this year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to grant provinces full say on immigration, noting the provinces need to solve their own immigration challenges, together.
“While Canada’s Constitution Act of 1867 gives the federal government certain powers over immigration … There are precedents for provinces creating legislation … that gives better control over who is permitted into their province, such as The Quebec-Canada Accord,” reads the proposal.
United Conservative members stressed the importance of newcomers having shared “values” and “traditions,” to preserve the cohesiveness of their province.
We want “to ensure those coming here are closely aligned with our country’s economic needs and our core values,” Smith previously said, when accused by the feds of “weaponizing” immigration.
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Immigration Minister Marc Miller previously said most provinces are not doing their “fair share” without naming Alberta. “Québec [is] doing more than their fair share and the other provinces need to step up,” he said.
Data shows Québec accepted 300,000 temporary residents over the past two years, but Smith contends Alberta is in a “very similar position” to their eastern neighbour. The premier told reporters on July 17 that her province takes in 22% of newcomers despite having 12% of Canada’s population.
Similar to la belle province, Smith said “unrestricted” immigration will worsen housing shortages and grow demand for essential services. Canada’s population, according to Statistics Canada’s real-time population clock, is now 41.7 million.
Alberta’s population grew by more than 200,000 people in the last fiscal year, leading Canada in year-over-year population growth (4.41%).
The Senate social affairs committee earlier found out the ‘true number’ of non-citizens permitted entry is quadruple the official figure. Most recent immigration data uncovered 471,550 permanent residents, 766,520 temporary foreign workers and 1,040,985 recipients of foreign study permits.
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Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-04 16:36:19 -0500Globalists have a concerted effort to destroy western society by flooding towns with incompatible aliens. Why else would they put so many of these freeloaders in towns and cities like Springfield and Dundrum? These globalists are “decolonizing” our lands with those who are colonizing our countries.
