Immigration Minister Marc Miller visited Yellowknife in July to learn about the unique needs Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories have in terms of immigration.
Miller told NNSL Media that he had learned from GNWT cabinet ministers and other local organizations that there are issues with the NWT Nominee Program.
He said that the program has already exceeded its cap of 300 applications in 2024, and that him and the territory Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caitlin Cleveland talked about possible ways of increasing the cap.
“If it makes sense for the local economy, that’s good,” he said.
While Miller agreed that sectors like mining and transportation have improved, immigration still needs to undergo better reorganization.
“We have to get our acts together when it comes to doing this the right way and not just have these programs that are the envy of other countries, but don’t work as great as they should,” he said, according to NNSL.
The final report on the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Immigration Strategy 2017-2022 showed improved immigration outcomes in the NWT, with there being 363 approved Employer Driven Stream applications between 2017 and 2022.
According to the report, the Nominee Program also attracted foreign investment to the NWT, with $4.5 million being invested by foreign nationals into the NWT via the Business Steam, resulting in 17 nominees and their families coming to Yellowknife and Hay River.
“The GNWT continues to support employers in meeting their workforce needs,” according to RJ Simpson, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
“In addition to supporting the training and skills development of Northerners, we view immigration and the Northwest Territories Nominee Program as a tool to assist employers in filling workforce gaps when Canadians and Permanent Resident workers are not available, and as a way to support economic development in the NWT.”
A point of contention was the effect on housing costs that immigration could have. According to Miller, that is not something people can directly attribute one to another.
“We all share some responsibility in the shortage of housing that’s occurred over the last 30 years,” he said.
“Governments have under-invested, whether it’s provincial or federal (and) these are challenges I think we’re up to, as a country. Making sure we have a manged immigration system is a really important part of that. You can’t just turn the taps off overnight and assume the problem’s going to be fixed. If we did that, you’d probably quickly see that the affordability challenges wouldn’t go away.”
Those looking to immigrate through the NWT Program need to either:
be ready to open, purchase or invest in a business in the NWT; or
have a job offer from an employer in the NWT.
Those looking to open, purchase, or invest in a business in the territory can go under the Business Stream, while those with a job offer from a NWT employer need to go through the Employer-Driven Stream.
