AAISA’s Priorities for the 2025 Federal Pre-Budget Consultations

Each year, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and the Department of Finance invite Canadians to participate in their pre-budget consultation processes.

AAISA’s submission to the Finance Committee’s 2025 fall pre-budget consultations recommends the urgent need for investment that strengthen settlement and integration services across Canada.

Our Recommendations include:

1. Provide stable and predictable multi-year funding to organizations with a demonstrated record of accomplishment of providing effective settlement services, to better support long-term planning and continuity of services.
2. Reform the IRCC funding mechanisms, to better reflect regional diversity, newcomer complexity, secondary migration, and support equitable access to essential services.
3. Provide funding to include the immigrant and refugee serving sector in housing and healthcare initiatives.
4. Expand eligibility for IRCC-funded services to include temporary residents including Temporary Foreign Workers and International Students.
5. Designate targeted funding for newcomer-specific employment services, including skills training, job placements, and employment readiness programs, delivered through SPOs with expertise in settlement and integration for meaningful employment.
6. Clarify and coordinate roles across departments, including IRCC and ESDC, to ensure funding streams are not duplicative or contradictory, and to close service gaps.