Supporting Immigrants and Immigration to Alberta

1
Supporting Immigrants and Immigration to Alberta

• Albertas Strategic Policy on Immigration

2
Ministerial Report on Supporting Immigrants and
Immigration to Alberta

• Approved by Cabinet on September 7, 2005
• The Government of Alberta vision
• Immigrants and their families choose to live in
  Alberta, where they are able to fully participate
  in community life and are valued for their
  cultural, economic and social contributions.

3
Albertas Strategic Policy Supporting Immigrants
and Immigration to Alberta

• The strategic policy has four broad policy
  objectives
• Welcoming Communities
• Attracting Immigrants to Alberta
• Living in Alberta
• Working in Alberta
• The policy is available on our internet site
  http//www3.gov.ab.ca/hre/immigration/index.asp

4
Welcoming Communities

• Strategies include
• Developing resources and programs to increase
  Albertans awareness and understanding of
  multiculturalism and diversity.

5
Attracting Immigrants to Alberta

• 2 objectives are
• Increasing the number of immigrants who chose to
  come directly to Alberta to minimum of 24,000
  each year.
• Working to remove barriers to permanent
  immigration faced by international students who
  complete their education in Alberta.

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Attracting Immigrants cont.

• International Marketing Strategy
• Provincial Nominee Program
• Euromission

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Attracting Immigrants cont.

• Off-Campus Work Permits for International Students

8
Living in Alberta

• Increase the retention rate of immigrants to 85
• Ensure supports are available to assist
  immigrants successfully settle and integrate into
  Alberta communities.

9
Working in Alberta

• Work to ensure international education, skills
  and work experience are valued appropriately.
• Assist employers to benefit from increased
  immigration to address skill shortages

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Challenges and Opportunities

• Government of Alberta policy and service
  coordination
• Community engagement for broad participation to
  ensure successful integration
• Addressing the broad range of labour shortages
• Settlement funding
• Temporary Foreign Workers

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Policy Questions

• Successful retention strategies
• Regionalization
• Community involvement
• Needs of immigrant families