<Canada’s immigration policy: No country for old men>

But Canadian policy is changing. Since winning power in 2006 the Conservatives have moved away from the idea of letting in people based on their “talent for citizenship” to admitting workers with job offers. On January 1st the government moved further in that direction. A new “Express Entry system” greatly increases the weight given to offers of employment for people applying to become permanent residents.

In this, Canada is a follower rather than a leader. New Zealand started giving preference to job holders in 2003 and Australia made the shift in 2009. The change makes sense. But critics worry that in shifting from a policy based on civic values to one governed by commercial logic, Canada is making the system more vulnerable to fraud and discrimination. Though more open than other right-of-centre parties, Canada’s Conservatives have been characteristically hard-nosed about letting in refugees and immigrants’ family members.