People considering moving to Canada will be reassured by a recent message from the country’s citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism minister Jason Kenney.
Speaking at the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Mr Kenney said that it was looking to make immigration faster, more flexible and focused on jobs in order to promote national economic growth and prosperity.
They hope to eliminate the backlog of old Federal Skilled Worker applications by looking to reflect the importance of younger immigrants with Canadian work experience as well as those with advanced language skills.
Kenney told attendees: “The cornerstone of success is being able to speak one of Canada’s official languages.
“That is why the government is also proposing changes to the citizenship rules so that new citizens have the language abilities they need to succeed.”
Having an adequate grasp of English or French has been a requirement for citizenship in Canada since the first Citizenship Act of 1947.