Canada

Canada: While Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has been struggling against criticism from all sides, both the Liberals and New Democrats have been putting pressure on Harper and his government to do more, according to Toronto Star. Early in the campaign, Harper announced Canada would welcome 10,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees from persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in the region to Canada over the next four years, adding to the 10,000 Syrian refugees the government previously said it would accept over the next three years. With the humanitarian refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe getting worse by the day, all three mainstream parties are only too aware of how important their response to such matters is to Canadian voters. Ottawa has also announced an emergency relief fund for Syria matching Canadian donations up to $100 million. I believe the focus has to be on the successful implementation such as the new Express Entry system, which is the mainstay of new economic immigration to Canada now, says Jason Kenney, the minister of Defence and Multiculturalism and the former minister of Immigration who proudly defends his government record on the file. But will this be enough to win voters And what do the three parties have planned for immigration policy overall The Conservative party plans to stay the course, making sure the sweeping changes it made to the immigration and refugee system since 2007 continue to run smoothly and efficiently. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.