In 1976, Canada passed the Immigration Act, which laid out three groups of people admissible to the country: immigrants, who's acceptance depended on a points-based system, people with nuclear family members in Canada, and refugees, as defined by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

In 2002, Canada passed the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a replacement of the 1976 legislation. 

Here are some objectives which this act provided relating to immigrants:

• to permit Canada to pursue the maximum social, cultural and economic benefits of immigration;

• to enrich and strengthen the social and cultural fabric of Canadian society, while respecting the federal, bilingual and multicultural character of Canada;

• to support the development of a strong and prosperous Canadian economy, in which the benefits of immigration are shared across all regions of Canada;

• to promote international justice and security by fostering respect for human rights and by denying access to Canadian territory to persons who are criminals or security risks; 

And relating to refugees:

• to recognize that the refugee program is in the first instance about saving lives and offering protection to the displaced and persecuted;

• to fulfil Canada’s international legal obligations with respect to refugees and affirm Canada’s commitment to international efforts to provide assistance to those in need of resettlement;

• to establish fair and efficient procedures that will maintain the integrity of the Canadian refugee protection system, while upholding Canada’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings