IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-03

Minister’s Guide To IRCC

Key Messages – Day 1

“I am honoured the Prime Minister has entrusted me with the responsibility to lead this Department, and I look forward to serving Canadians in this important role.”

“I recognize that Canada’s immigration system is at a pivotal moment. We are listening to Canadians and moving forward with a responsible immigration plan that reflects our shared values.”

If pressed on an issue:

“I will be meeting with departmental officials to get briefed on this and other important issues, and will have more to say in the coming days.”

Key Issues

Immigration Levels Plan

• “Our immigration system is nimble and responsive to the country’s needs.”
• For the first time ever, the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan includes arrival targets for temporary residents, specifically international students and temporary workers, as well as admissions for permanent residents. The levels plan is expected to result in a pause in population growth in the short term to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth in the long term. Specifically, the government is reducing the share of non-permanent residents to 5% of the total population by the end of 2026. This year’s plan also prioritizes transitioning temporary residents already in Canada to permanent status, which will reduce pressure on housing.

Security Screening

• “Everyone who applies for temporary or permanent residence is screened for eligibility and admissibility, for things such as having a criminal record, by highly trained officers to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians.”
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) works closely with partners including the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to carry out security screening, including for 100% of asylum seekers and high-risk visitors, in order to help identify those who might pose a threat to Canadians.

Border Integrity

• “We encourage individuals to claim asylum in the first safe country that they enter and to do so at a designated port of entry. Canada’s Border Plan aims to bolster border security, strengthen our immigration system, and keep Canadians safe.”
• As of 2023, the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) applies to the entire land border (including internal waterways).
• Canada’s Border Plan
  • $1.3 billion
  • Five pillars:
    • Detecting and disrupting the fentanyl trade
    • Introducing significant new tools for law enforcement
    • Enhancing operational coordination
    • Increasing information sharing
    • Minimizing unnecessary border volumes

• Canada continues to work closely with our U.S. counterparts to address southbound crossings by foreign nationals, respond to illegal crossings and combat human smuggling operations.

International Crisis Response

• “Canada is committed to responding to international crises, including through immigration measures. When responding to international crises, Canada works with partners and tailors each response to meet the unique needs of those who require our support.”
• Canada has responded to a range of crisis situations in recent years, including, but not limited to Afghanistan, Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. Building on a key commitment of the Strategic Immigration Review, IRCC has developed a crisis response framework for providing consistent advice on migration responses to international crises, while supporting a controlled and well-managed immigration system.

Processing Times

• “We will continue to make improving services for our clients a priority, including modernizing and strengthening our immigration system to achieve well-managed and sustainable growth in the long term.”
• Our goal is to process at least 80% of complete applications within service standards. We continue to digitize applications and harness automation technologies to speed up processing, while protecting and prioritizing the safety and security of Canadians. Actual processing times vary according to a number of factors and IRCC doesn’t begin to calculate processing times until we receive a complete application with all the necessary supporting documents.

International Student Program

• “Canada values the significant social, cultural and economic benefits that international students bring to Canada. We must continue to tackle issues that have made some students vulnerable and have challenged the integrity of the International Student Program.”
• Over the last 18 months, IRCC has introduced changes to the International Student Program to better align it with immigration goals and economic objectives. These measures are also contributing to the objective of decreasing Canada’s temporary resident population to 5% of total population by the end of 2026, and to better protecting genuine students from fraud and financial vulnerability.

Temporary Workers

• “Canada is updating its temporary worker programs to reflect labour market and economic needs, stabilize population growth, and maintain immigration integrity. We continue to attract talent by prioritizing applications in key sectors like agriculture, food processing, construction and health care.”
• Work permits for temporary workers are issued under the International Mobility Program (IMP), administered by IRCC, or the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), co-administered with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). In 2024, the government tightened eligibility in both programs to achieve reductions while continuing to attract talent.
• Canadian employers hiring temporary workers on employer-specific work permits are subject to an employer compliance regime to promote safe and fair working conditions.

Case and Litigation

If the media asks about a specific case, a standard response is:

• “Due to privacy legislation, I cannot comment on specific cases. It would be inappropriate to comment further on this case as it is before the Court.”

Key Contacts

Deputy Minister
Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar
613-286-6632

Associate Deputy Minister
Scott Harris
613-447-8839

Deputy Minister’s Chief of Staff
Kathryn Nowers
343-597-8279

Departmental Assistant
Donahue Richard
343-575-1651