On December 7, 2007 The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Diane Finley announced a $38 million in funding for 15 partner agencies in the Halton and Peel Regions of Greater Toronto Area to deliver settlement and integration services to immigrants in the community. This funding, will help more than 150,000 newcomers access settlement services including help finding a job through employment related services, orientation, translation and interpretation services; help with referrals to community resources; and counselling services.

National headquarters of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is issuing a national Call for Proposals for the following 2 programs:

• programs and services to support the settlement and integration of newcomers into Canadian society
• refugee resettlement and assistance programs.

Proposed activities must meet the criteria identified in one of the following areas: Overseas Activities; Needs Assessments; Resettlement; Service Bridging; Language/Skills Development; and Social Engagement.

Canada's new government has announced support and funding for a project organized by Carrefour d'immigration rurale (CIR) Evangeline in Wellington, P.E.I. (Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island), to assist in attracting immigrants to this rural Francophone community. A funding of $49,150 provided by Canada's New Government through the Official Languages Action Plan, is being used for a number of activities including community and school awareness programs..

Most recent immigrants to Canada are settling in the 5 largest Canadian cities. Approximately 80 per cent of Canadian immigrants have chosen to settle in Canada's five largest urban centres including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa. The census metropolitan area of Toronto attracted the largest share of new immigrants, nearly 3 times greater than its share of the total population in Canada.

Nearly one fifth of Canada's total population was born elsewhere in the world. Most of them immigrated to Canada because of the promise of living freely in a democratic, peaceful and multicultural society. Most immigrants to Canada have low levels of political participation. A new program being run by The Maytree Foundation aims to change that by encouraging civic engagement among immigrants.

The number of immigrants from United Staes accepted into Canada reached 10,942 in 2006, a 30-year high and almost double the number of Americans admitted in 2000. By contrast, the number of Canadians admitted to the United States in 2006 dropped sharply from the previous year, falling to 23,913 from 29,930. This pattern suggests the drain of Canadian brains south of the border may be a reducing.

Canada already has a very generous immigration system that sees somewhere between 225,000 and 250,000 new permanent residents each year. The government of the day, whether Liberal or Conservative, often boasts of how well the system has worked in achieving their targeted goal. Recent Statistics Canada results suggest that within the next few decades 100% of Canadian growth in population will be the result of immigration only.

The ipsos-Reid poll suggests in contrast with the similar survey done in 1993 that present day Canadian are more comfortable with granting equal rights & opportunities to recent immigrants of Canada. Though nearly two third of the respondents believe that immigrants of Canada should have same rights as Canadian-born citizens in future.

The story of Canada's history is one of a constant flow of immigrants arriving to help build Canada from the ground up. To document this important part of Canadian history and share it with future generations, the Scotiabank Research Centre is now being opened at Pier 21, home of Canada's Immigration Museum.

Speaking with members of the Chinese community in Markham, just outside of Toronto, newly elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada Stephane Dion discussed his plans to keep Canada competitive in the global economy. Mr. Dion highlighted immigration as a crucial element, helping to address Canada's labour shortage..