Province Building and the Federalization of Immigration in Canada

Most accounts of the provincial role in Canadian immigration focus on the experience of Quebec. In Province Building and the Federalization of Immigration in Canada, Mireille Paquet shows that, between 1990 and 2010, all ten provinces became closely involved in immigrant selection and integration. This considerable change to the Canadian model of immigration governance corresponds to a broader process of federalization of immigration, by which both orders of government became active in the management of immigration. While Canada maintains its overall positive approach to newcomers, the provinces developed, and continue to develop, their own formal immigration strategies and implement various selections and integration policies.

This book argues that the process of federalization is largely the result of provincial mobilization. In each province, mobilization occurred through a modern iteration of province building, this time focused on immigrants as resources for provincial economies and societies. Advocating for a province-centred analysis of federalism, Province Building and the Federalization of Immigration in Canada provides key lessons to understanding the contemporary governance of immigration in Canada.