Marc Miller becomes the new Canada Immigration Minster

Yesterday at 10:30 AM Eastern Time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada announced significant changes to his cabinet. One of the key changes is the appointment of Marc Miller as the new Immigration Minister, taking over from Sean Fraser.

Marc Miller is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was elected to represent the Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs riding in the House of Commons during the 2015 election. Before entering politics, he worked as a lawyer with Stikeman Elliott and also served as an infantry commander in the Canadian Army Primary Reserve.

Marc Miller assumed the position of Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship on July 26, 2023.

Marc Miller and Justin Trudeau have known each other since their time at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in the 1980s and are described as long-time friends. Miller earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the Université de Montréal, and he earned his common and civil law degrees from the McGill University Faculty of Law in 2001.

Before Trudeau’s leadership, Canada admitted around 250,000 new permanent residents each year. However, under Trudeau’s tenure, this number increased to 300,000 per year, and then 340,000 per year just before the pandemic. During the pandemic, Canada raised its targets even further, aiming to welcome over 400,000 new permanent residents annually. Now, with the Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025, the country aims to reach 500,000 permanent residence landings annually by 2025.

The decision to pursue higher immigration levels is driven by Canada’s aging population and low birth rate. The government believes that immigration will help strengthen the country’s economy and fiscal standing, especially with about 9 million baby boomers reaching retirement age within the next decade. This increase in immigration levels aligns with historically low unemployment rates and high job vacancy rates in Canada.

After a major cabinet shuffle, the Prime Minister may issue new mandate letters to cabinet members, detailing their specific responsibilities and focus areas during their tenure.

In December 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau provided Sean Fraser, the previous Immigration Minister, with a list of immigration policies to prioritize. These policies included increasing immigration levels, streamlining application processing for newcomers, reforming the Express Entry system, supporting family reunification, and encouraging francophone immigration to Canada.

Fraser implemented several of these measures, such as introducing category-based selection for Express Entry, with the aim of achieving various economic priorities, including boosting francophone immigration. Another example of his initiatives was announcing measures in late May aimed at keeping families together in Canada.