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Here we go again, another cabinet shuffle which leads to a new minister of immigration, like the merry-go-round we have a new minister every 1-2 years like clockwork. The new minister of immigration, the honorable Marc Miller, estimated net worth is at least $4 million which we know of and has been reported. He may not seem to be, but he and his family are staunch human rights supporters with strong ties to international diplomacy. Just to give you an idea of his mantra from one of his previous speeches, he stated “I’m laser-focused on outcomes”.
Can we expect more from this new minister of immigration in Canada? Only time will tell and today we are going to do a deep dive into the minister’s personal and professional life to understand how he will share the policies of the IRCC and Canadian immigration going forward until the next cabinet shuffle or Federal election.
We’ve officially had 15 Ministers of Immigration since the position was re-created in 1994 (it was originally created in 1950 but was replaced in 1966). This year we are welcoming the 11th Liberal Minister of Immigration, having only had 4 Conservative Ministers of Immigration since 1994 when this position became formal.
The previous minister of immigration was in this position for less than 2 years, the previous one before him, Marco Mendicino, only held this position for 11 months, and so far, the longest-running ministers of immigration being John McCallum for close to 4 years, and Diane Finley of the conservative party for almost 5 years back in 2008 to 2013. Seems to be a 1–2-year position for most ministers so far. By understanding the history, profile, family, and previous votes and positions of the new minister of immigration, we could decipher what to expect in the next 24 months for Canadian immigration.
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Here is a quick history and bio of the new minister of Immigration in Canada, the honorable Marc Miller:
* Born & raised in Quebec to an Anglophone mother in Montreal and his father originally from Nova Scotia, he is an old college classmate of Justin Trudeau who helped organize Trudeau’s first run for office in the Papineau district in Quebec in 2007. He has been his supporter and ally since they were classmates continuing until today. He is one of Justin’s oldest ‘boyhood friends’.
* His father, Carman Miller, was a military historian and the former Dean of Arts at the McGill University in Montreal.
* Pamela Gales Miller was a history of medicine librarian at McGill.
* He studied political science before going to law school and becoming a lawyer.
* Previously, he was a full time corporate lawyer with one of the largest firms in the country, Stikeman Elliot. Marc Miller specialized in mergers and acquisitions, with a focus on international and commercial law, and had his corporate law career take him from Montréal to Sweden and even New York City.
* He has also authored articles on constitutional and human rights law.
* He was first voted into Federal parliament in 2015 – making his entry into politics. Obviously being a close friend of Justin Trudeau and helping him become prime minister of Canada in 2015 was a huge momentum for Marc Miller to also gain his footing into the political limelight.
* Interesting facts about his family history: Miller's great grandmother Mary LeRossignol Dawson attended McGill for one year, while her daughter, Isabel Dawson Gales was one of McGill’s first women law graduates. Barred from practicing law in Quebec at that time, she worked as a paralegal.
His spouse:
It’s always good to know a little bit about the mother of the minister’s children – as I’m sure you all agree will affect the minister’s perception and point of view in life. Let’s find out more about Erin Sandberg Miller:
* Erin Sandberg Miller, a former Swedish diplomat who met Marc while both were studying at the Universite de Montreal.
* She began her career as the second secretary to the Embassy of Sweden in Bogota, Colombia, and continued to have roles in the permanent mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York, and eventually became the deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Sweden between 2009 and 2010.
* She authored the ‘Proceedings of the 116th Annual Meeting’ regarding the ‘Use of targeted sanctions in the Fight Against International Terrorism - What about Human Rights’?
* She is currently an independent consultant and Deputy Director of Women, Peace and Security at Global Affairs Canada and also runs her own podcast called ‘Everyday Reconciliation’ since 2021 – aligning with her husband’s role as the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and as Minister of Indigenous Services
The minister and his family live in a private house in Westmount Montreal, which is one of the most prestigious anglophone neighborhoods in all of Quebec.
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On January 28, 2017, as his first position after being elected Member of Parliament, Miller was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. In 2018 he was moved to be the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations. And on October 26, 2021, Miller became the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations.
During his time in Federal Parliament, he has been a member of the following associations and groups:
1: Canada-France Inter-Parliamentary Association.
2: Canada-Israel Inter-Parliamentary Association.
3: Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association.
4: Canadian Branch of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
5: Canadian Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union.
6: Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group.
7: Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group.
He has also been a member of the following committees in Parliament:
Back in 2020, he was an alternative member of the COVID-19 Pandemic committee. He was also a member of the Foreign Affairs & International Development Committee and Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development just to name a few of the committees.
With his previous professional career, background, and participation in these committees and following associations, he seems to be one of the most well-versed ministers who is going to be very aware of international affairs and relations – unlike some of his predecessors. He and his family are no strangers to international diplomacy and inter-country relations.
Chamber Votes as a Member of Parliament:
When reviewing some of the votes he has placed in the Chamber as a Member of Parliament.
He voted ‘Nay’ for Bill S-8, which would amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to ensure foreign nationals subject to sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act are inadmissible to Canada. These amendments would allow the Canada Border Services Agency to deny entry to, and remove, individuals subjected to sanctions, and would allow Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials to deny temporary resident and permanent resident visas overseas, and to refuse various types of immigration applications made in Canada. This reinforces his stance as a Liberal and his spouse’s position as a human rights supporter when she was working in the United Nations and published the book regarding the human rights factors when implementing sanctions on countries involved in international terrorism.
The minister, Marc Miller, also as expected, opposed the motion by the Bloc Quebecois political party which mentioned the following:
“….given that,
(i) the Century Initiative aims to increase Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100,
(ii) the federal government’s new intake targets are consistent with the Century Initiative objectives,
(iii) tripling Canada’s population has real impacts on the future of the French language, Quebec’s political weight, the place of First Peoples, access to housing, and health and education infrastructure,
(iv) these impacts were not taken into account in the development of the Century Initiative and that Quebec was not considered,
the House reject the Century Initiative objectives and ask the government not to use them as a basis for developing its future immigration levels.”
This vote was obviously in line with his party position as a Liberal – just opposing everything that the opposition says.
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Based on this information and his personal career and family’s position, we expect he will influence Canadian immigration in 3 ways:
* To be more of a humanitarian rights supporter and promote more of the refugee and H&C programs in existence.
* He is a result-oriented person, hence there may be a good chance that he will push the IRCC to roll out all the programs they have been promising but have not implemented which can include:
For the first 12 months, we don’t expect the minister to sway too far from the original roadmap of the IRCC but rather push to help roll out these changes faster than his previous predecessors.
This fall the IRCC is planning to publish the new strategic immigration report indicating future Canadian immigration trends and priorities. This will most likely be 90% of the new minister of immigration’s mandate during his tenure. And big surprise, what do you think this report will include? Since the government is always 1.5 years behind in actually what’s happening with the local economy and immigration and other local trends, we don’t expect much from this report besides emphasizing the labour crunch, more emphasis on francophone mobility programs, a more aggressive position on rural community inbound immigration programs, family reunification, refugee settlement programs, and newcomer assistance, as well as more support for international students coming to Canada, and if we’re lucky maybe some acknowledgment regarding the broken down home caregiver and child support pilot program.
In conclusion, what we can expect from the new minister of immigration, is more implementation, less talk, and sticking to the original IRCC script. Don’t hold your breath for some amazing immigration programs or huge changes.
If you’re planning to immigrate to Canada and you’re looking for some guidance and support, you’re at the right place! We are licensed and we have successfully supported applicants from more than 49 nationalities to apply for Canadian immigration through Studies, Working, Sponsorship, and Business. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
If you’re thinking about immigrating whether permanently or temporarily - you’re at the right place! Our team speaks over +9 languages, and we help applicants from over 50 different countries during their immigration process. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
