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Federal Immigration Minister Lena Diab says she’s unaware of a directive that was reportedly sent to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa from the Trump administration ordering its envoy to press Canada to lower most immigration levels.
Asked if Canada takes advice from the U.S. when setting Canada’s immigration levels, Diab said she consulted for months with economists, department officials and stakeholders across the country when deciding Canada’s immigration levels going forward.
“Quite frankly, the provinces and territories, they were my main partners because immigration in Canada is a joint provincial, territorial, federal jurisdiction. Those are the individuals that I consult with when we develop our levels plan,” she said.
The New York Times reported Thursday that it had obtained a copy of a diplomatic cable sent by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to diplomats in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
According to the report, the cable directs U.S. ambassadors in those countries to press governments to lower most immigration levels and to report if those governments “appear to be overly supportive of immigrants.”
Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab was asked Thursday if she takes advice from the U.S. on immigration levels after a New York Times report said documents show America has asked its diplomats to press allies, including Canada, to restrict immigration.
The cable also reportedly asks U.S. ambassadors to “raise U.S. concerns about violent crimes associated with people of a migration background.”
“Its not something I’m familiar with … unless something happened overnight.” Diab said of the Times report detailing Rubio’s cable.
Diab made the remarks at a news conference in Ottawa where she was announcing programs to support the settlement of Francophone immigrants outside Quebec. That program, she said, will invest about $3.6 million to support four new projects funded by the Francophone Immigration Support Program.
She said the initiatives to promote Canada and recruit skilled Francophone immigrants were crafted to help meet skills shortages in areas like health care, education and early childhood, she said.