‘The last thing we want is every immigrant goes to either Toronto or Vancouver,’

Federal immigration minister John McCallum is trying to make it easier for Chinese tourists, students and temporary workers to get visas to come to Canada  but doesn’t want them to head to  Vancouver and Toronto.

McCallum said he had “very positive and open” discussions with Chinese officials last seek seeking permission to double or triple the number of visa application centres where Chinese people can apply to come to Canada. There are currently five, including Hong Kong. “They didn’t say yes, but they certainly didn’t say no,” McCallum told reporters in Vancouver after a roundtable discussion on immigration. The federal strategy to attract Chinese workers and others comes at a time when debate about the role of foreign money in Vancouver’s ‘s skyrocketing house prices has reached a fever pitch. He was asked at a media interaction what the Liberal government would do to make sure its immigration push didn’t put more pressure on hot housing markets. McCallum said the government’s intention is to encourage immigrants to settle outside of Vancouver and Toronto. “We would like to spread the immigrants across the country relatively evenly,” McCallum told media. “The last thing we want is every immigrant goes to either Toronto or Vancouver,” he added.

McCallum said he’s hearing appetite for more immigration at his consultation sessions across Canada, especially in the Maritimes with an aging population.

“There’s a significant feeling that Canada does need more immigrants, partly because we have an aging population, and so we need more young blood to keep our economies going.”