Nova Scotia Immigration Minister and Lena Diab

Premier Stephen McNeil: But McCallum later told Nova Scotia Immigration Minister Lena Diab the number for 2016 would return to 1,050, according to CBC. While Diab was in Ottawa Monday night, a return to the previous 1,350 was negotiated. "We're certainly pleased that he McCallum recognized that the 300 bump that we got last year shouldn't have been a one-time bump," Premier Stephen McNeil said on Tuesday. "There a commitment by them to recognize the work that Nova Scotians have been doing in and around retention and allowing us to lead in Atlantic Canada to make sure that immigrants who arrive in Atlantic Canada stay here, not just here but in our sister provinces." Lobbying efforts Just two years ago, the province was allowed 700 immigrants through the program. At the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, federal Immigration Minister John McCallum confirmed Nova Scotia would get an additional 300 nominations for the program — one of the streams through which immigrants land in the province. "Nova Scotia, because of its aging population, is desperate for immigrants, so I get it," McCallum told CBC Radio Mainstreet. "So what we are hoping to do in the time between now and the fall is to hold these discussions, for me to be able to generate large numbers of immigrants overall and for me to be able to agree to Nova Scotia to receive significantly more. "But we're not there yet, we're in the early stages." McNeil 'pleased' In September 2015, the Canadian government approved Nova Scotia request to increase the number of new immigrants for the nominee program from 1,050 to 1,350. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration says it been lobbying the federal government to bump the number beyond 1,350 all year. Her office says McNeil also raised the same question with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January. In an emailed statement to CBC News last week, Nova Scotia immigration spokeswoman Kelly Bennett said: "Ideally, we'd like to receive 5,000 individual nominations per year like Manitoba ." In October 2015, Diab announced she would ask Ottawa to permanently remove the cap on the nominee program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.