Source: Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Nino Melikidze and Steven Paolasini lay out a sobering diagnosis in their Macdonald-Laurier Institute piece. What was once a points-based system designed to attract the brightest and most capable has gone badly off the rails.
Express Entry, launched in 2015 to prioritize skilled workers who could quickly contribute and succeed, was gradually repurposed as a tool to hit ever-higher immigration targets. The result is a chaotic, unpredictable system that rewards temporary status, questionable credentials, and short-term political goals over genuine human capital. Skilled professionals who played by the rules watched the goalposts move repeatedly. Fraud in student pathways and job offers exploded. Honest applicants who invested time, money, and hope were left frustrated and disillusioned, while communities absorbed the costs of rapid population growth without matching housing and infrastructure.
This is more than a policy failure. It is a betrayal of trust. Canadians were told immigration would strengthen our economy and ease labour shortages. Instead, productivity stagnated, housing pressure intensified, and public services were stretched thinner while the quality of economic immigration declined. The very people Canada claimed to want — engineers, tradespeople, healthcare workers with real experience — found themselves competing in a system that no longer rewarded excellence.
The good news is that it does not have to stay this way.
A serious reset is possible. Canada can return to a clear, transparent, merit-focused Express Entry that asks the right questions: Who are we attracting? Do they have the skills and earning potential to succeed here long-term? Will they strengthen our economy and communities?
That means simplifying the programs, removing points for easily gamed factors, focusing scoring on verified outcomes like earnings and real credentials, and capping overall numbers at sustainable levels. It means treating Express Entry as the high-skill economic stream it was always meant to be.
Canadians deserve an immigration system that works for the country, not one that serves short-term targets at the expense of long-term strength. Skilled immigrants who come here ready to contribute deserve a fair, predictable process that respects their effort. Right now, both are being shortchanged.
It is time to stop pretending the current system is working. Canada built a reputation on selecting the best. We can earn it back — but only if we have the courage to fix what went off the rails.
