Sask. immigration nominations to increase 42% by 2025, province says

Saskatchewan is preparing for a rise in immigration following a change in regulations between the province and federal government.

According to a news release from the Government of Saskatchewan, the number of nominations under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) will increase by 42 per cent over the next three years.

“That is very, very substantial,” Minister of Immigration Jeremy Harrison told reporters following question period on Monday.

The increase will translate to an allocation of 8,500 nominees by 2025, up from 6,000 nominations in 2022.

Besides an increase to the number of economic migrants allowed into Saskatchewan, Harrison explained that the province would be gaining more authority over the selection process.

“To get complete control on selection criteria as it relates to settlement; that was really one of the central components of our immigration accord proposal,” Harrison said.

“We felt that the federal government were really duplicating a lot of that backend assessment and it took a lot of time, which really ended up benefiting no one and really hurt newcomers looking to get permanent residency.”

The official opposition was supportive of the announcement, but stressed that more focus on retention is needed going forward.

“We see some positive pieces to what’s been announced, [but] we need to make sure though that we retain newcomers in a much better way,” NDP MLA Trent Wotherspoon said.

“To make sure that we have the jobs and opportunity and the cost of living and education supports that are going to be able to allow us to retain those newcomers, to be able to build and contribute to the future of Saskatchewan.”

An increase in the number of immigrants to the province is only half the equation, Wotherspoon explained.

He claimed that declining retention rates requires a renewed focus on supports, such as english as a second language courses for children, and other services for families.

“In the last number of years here we’ve really seen those numbers plummet. Not long ago we had 80 per cent plus retention rates, similar number to what other provinces have,” he said.

“We definitely support the increased allocation but we need to make sure those supports are there around settlement, and in our classrooms and then by way of jobs and opportunity to make sure we retain newcomers over the long term.”

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As the rate of immigration to the province increases, objectives for the government include keeping processing times low and connecting new immigrants to job vacancies.

“We’re seeing labour market challenges right across the economy. It’s the number one issue that we’re hearing over and over again,” Harrison said.

“So, increased immigration levels are one of the paths we are taking to address that.”

As of March 13, Saskatchewan has more than 15,600 job vacancies posted on SaskJobs and the National Job Bank.

A total of 135,800 job openings are forecasted in the province over the next five years, the release outlined.

In addition to the increased autonomy announcement, the government revealed it would welcome Saskatchewan's fifth flight of displaced Ukrainians on March 27.

“We will take an unlimited number and welcome an unlimited of Ukrainian refugees, who have been displaced, into this province,” Harrison added.

Roughly 200 passengers are expected to be on the flight, joining the approximately 3,200 Ukrainians who have already arrived.