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But the Liberal plan is unlikely to meet the huge demand for family reunification. The Conservative government cleared a backlog of 165,000 applications for parents and grandparents in 2011 by admitting 70,000 applicants between 2012 and 2014, putting a temporary freeze on new applications, tightening who could apply, introducing a 10-year super visa for parents and grandparents, and putting an annual cap of 5,000 on future applications.

At the same time, the Liberals are poised to ease family unification for the young by making it easier for siblings of Canadians to come to Canada, granting spouses of Canadians permanent residency instead of making them wait for two years and changing the maximum age for dependents who can come into Canada to 22 from 19.

“Recognizing that people with family here are good for the economy, as well as good for nation building, is a pretty important thing to be stating,” said Naomi Alboim, a professor at Queen’s University and former deputy minister in Ontario. Young immigrants who already have relatives in Canada integrate into the economy more easily, while the elderly can help with childcare, she explained.

Others disagree with the Liberal focus. Martin Collacott, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, said that super visas for elderly family members, which require them to have private health insurance and their families to show they can support them financially during their stay, are more cost-effective for Canadian taxpayers. Family reunifications for parents and grandparents cost approximately $30,000 per head between 2012 and 2014, according to a study Collacott conducted for the Fraser Institute.