Points of Prejudice: Education‐Based Discrimination in Canada's Immigration System

Abstract: Education and skill are increasingly used by states around the world as a central organizing principle in the regulation of migration flows. Immigration theorists have often claimed that use of education and skill to determine “who should get in” to a country is non‐discriminatory, innocent and legitimate. Using the example of Canadian immigration policy, this article argues in contrast that skill‐based migration regimes are discriminatory, violate core principles of public education provision, unjustly create second‐class tiers of immigrants officially classified as “low skilled” in receiving countries, and contribute to a growing problem of “brain drain” of the highly skilled from sending countries worldwide.