Speaking notes for the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship: Announcement related to a call for proposals under the foreign credential recognition program

Delivered Monday, December 5, 2022, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Good morning, everyone, and a big thank-you to my friend, Sean Casey, for the very kind introduction this morning.

I’m very glad to be joining you virtually today from Ottawa, the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin People.

Look, before I get into the substance of today’s announcement, let me just start by saying that Canada needs more people. We need more people for economic reasons, to start, but also for demographic reasons. It’s important when we talk about our increased immigration ambition that we understand the economic context in which we currently exist. Canada has had—despite certain challenges that remain—one of the strongest economic recoveries from the COVID‑19 pandemic of any advanced economy in the world. We’ve now recovered many of the jobs that were lost during the pandemic. GDP is well in advance of pre-pandemic levels, and this summer, we actually recorded the lowest rate of unemployment in the recorded history of Canada.