Question Period Note: LABOUR SHORTAGES

Immigration responses to labour shortages across Canada

• Immigration is a driving force behind Canada's labour supply and economic growth.
• Permanent and temporary residents help to fill labour market needs and support the development of a strong and prosperous Canada.
• Although job vacancies are declining overall, shortages continue to exist in key sectors, such as health care, that need to be addressed.
• We have put in place measures to target immigration in key sectors, to ensure Canada can attract and retain the people we want and need.
• This summer, we launched category-based selection in Express Entry, which allows us to bring in more immigrants with in-demand work experience in areas such as home-building, health-care, transportation, and agriculture.
• We are also bringing in more workers to support the jobs of the future, and those with strong French-language skills, to help meet economic needs.
• There is more to be done to welcome newcomers with the skills to fill in-demand jobs. We will continue to make improvements to ensure that Canada can attract and retain the people we want and need.

If pressed on the trades and housing
• This year, IRCC introduced a Trades category for category-based selection within Express Entry, which will help Canada’s construction sector attract the skilled talent it needs to support the housing supply.
• The Provincial Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot can all be leveraged to fill labour shortages in the construction industry.
• On June 12, the Government announced the federal Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, which construction employers, like other Canadian employers, can use to hire refugee and displaced persons with the right skills.
On foreign credential recognition
• Our government recognizes FCR processes can pose a barrier that can delay or prevent newcomers from participating to their full potential in the Canadian labour market. IRCC works to reduce these barriers and make collective advancements with our federal, provincial and territorial partners.

• IRCC funds settlement services that help connect newcomers to federal or provincial and territorial services that will support their awareness of and success in the credentialing process with the ultimate goal of integration into the labour market and life in Canada.

• This government’s 2022 Fall Economic Statement committed $19M over two years to bolster these important settlement supports for newcomers – particularly related to healthcare human resources – including through select pre-arrival, information and orientation services, and in-Canada language training.

On healthcare shortages:
• In the last two years (2022 and 2023, up until September 30), close to 12,000 health care workers have obtained permanent residency in Canada.

• The Government of Canada is investing in projects meant to give internationally educated health professionals the support needed to pursue opportunities in the areas where we need their skills most.

• IRCC continues to build upon the existing Settlement Program supports, meant to welcome all newcomers, by funding services that direct internationally trained healthcare workers to the appropriate supports in their community of choice, as well as delivering other settlement supports, such as language training, to foster their integration in Canada.

On processing:
• To address ongoing application backlogs, speed up processing, and allow for skilled newcomers to fill critical labour gaps faster, the government has committed an additional $50 million in 2022-23 for IRCC.

• The immigration system supports the development of a strong and prosperous Canada, in which the benefits of immigration are shared across all regions. IRCC administers a range of programs for temporary residents and permanent residents seeking to establish in the Canadian labour market, and fill persistent labour needs.

Labour Shortages

Job vacancies, second quarter 2023
• The number of job vacancies across Canada decreased to 780,200 in the second quarter of 2023 from a record high of 990,900 unfilled positions in the second quarter of 2022, continuing a steady downward trend.

• Job vacancies in health occupations have not showed signs of improvement. Health occupations was the only broad occupational group to report a year-over-year rise in job vacancies in the second quarter of 2023, with 90,000 vacant positions (+7,800, +9.5%).

• Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (+6,100 to 29,700) and licensed practical nurses (+2,700 to 13,600) represented the bulk of the year-over-year increase in job vacancies in health occupations.

Permanent Resident Programs

• Canada’s suite of economic immigration programs allows for the selection of immigrants, including French-speaking and bilingual candidates, across a range of occupations and skill levels, across all regions of the country.

Express Entry
• Express Entry is the online application management system for three federal high skilled immigration programs (the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program) and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.

• In June 2023, category-based selection launched in Express Entry, allowing better targeting of invitations to candidates who meet specified economic goals. Informed by labour market information and input from consultations with partners and stakeholders, categories for 2023 were established for French-language proficiency, and work experience in healthcare, STEM, trades, transport, and agriculture and agri-food occupations.

• Category-based invitation rounds add to general (i.e., based on rank in the pool) and program specific rounds. Category-based selection makes Express Entry more responsive to Canada’s changing economic and labour market needs, while building on the high human capital approach that has been a hallmark of Canada’s successful economic immigration system.

• Since June 2023 (up to November 14, 2023), the Department has issued 16,900 invitations to apply for permanent residence through category-based selection invitation rounds, including 7,700 to candidates with French language proficiency; 5,600 to candidates with work experience in health care occupations; 1,500 to candidates with work experience in trades occupations; 1,000 to candidates with work experience in transport occupations; 600 to candidates with work experience in agriculture and agri-food occupations; and 500 to candidates with work experience in STEM occupations.

Facilitating permanent residence for foreign national physicians
• In April 2023, IRCC implemented measures to facilitate permanent residence for foreign national physicians providing publicly-funded medical services in Canada.
• These measures recognize the unique fee-for-service employment model used by many physicians in Canada’s health care system, and will allow more foreign national physicians to qualify for Canada’s federal economic permanent residence programs and leverage faster processing times through the Express Entry application management system.

Provincial Nominee Program
• The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is a jointly administered immigration program which provides provinces and territories (PTs) with an opportunity to address their economic development needs, while distributing the benefits of economic immigration across Canada. PTs are responsible for the design and implementation of their program streams.
• Admissions have increased by almost 600% between 2005 and 2021. In 2022, Canada welcomed 88,260 provincial nominees and their families. In 2023, the program is expected to represent 40% of all planned economic admissions, making it the largest economic immigration program. The PNP has been the main source of economic immigration for 9 of the 11 participating jurisdictions from 2020 to 2022.

Atlantic Immigration Program
• The Atlantic Immigration Program has brought over 19,740 principal applicants and their families to the Atlantic region (as of September 30, 2023). It aims to attract skilled immigrants to Atlantic Canada to address demographic and economic needs, and to increase retention in the region.
• Since transitioning to a permanent program, over 2,400 employers have been using the Atlantic Immigration Program to fill their labour market vacancies and have presented over 5,700 job offers to skilled foreign nationals (as of September 30, 2023).

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
• Launched in 2019, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot uses a community-based economic development approach with the aim to support 11 partner communities located in northern Ontario and western Canada. Communities have the ability to set their candidate selection criteria, to target labour market needs in priority occupations and sectors.

• On September 23, 2022, changes were made to the pilot, including expanding the geographical boundaries of several participating communities to enable access to more employers, and allowing participation over a longer period, until August 2024. As of September 30 2023, 3,670 newcomers and family members have been admitted through the RNIP.

• The Ministerial Instructions for the RNIP will expire in August 2024, which will bring its initial pilot phase to a close. Taking into account the results of the ongoing review and given its success and positive stakeholder feedback, IRCC is exploring options to make the pilot a permanent program, with particular attention to the needs of Francophone communities. Details regarding participating communities, program design and implementation are currently in development, and will be announced in the coming months, including timelines and the possibility of expanding the program.

Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway
• In 2021, IRCC created a time-limited Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway, which targeted recent international graduates and essential workers in areas such a healthcare. Dedicated streams for French-speaking temporary residents were included. As of September 30, 2023, roughly 94,200 temporary residents and their families have been welcomed through this Pathway. It is anticipated that the remaining applications will be finalized by the end of 2023.

Temporary Worker Programs and Facilitation

• Temporary foreign workers play a vital role in critical sectors of the Canadian economy and society. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) are demand-driven with no limits and caps on the number of work permits that can be issued.

• The TFWP is jointly administered by ESDC, which processes the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), and IRCC, which is responsible for work permit issuance.
• The program helps employers fill labour shortages where Canadian citizen or permanent residents are not available. Work permits issued under this program are employer-specific, meaning the foreign national can only work for the employer indicated on their work permit.
• The IMP is administered solely by IRCC, and facilitates the entry of workers without an LMIA to support Canada’s broader economic, social, and cultural objectives, or other reciprocal benefits enjoyed by Canadians and permanent residents abroad.

• IRCC has recently introduced a number of new or expanded facilitation measures to support employers and workers alike, including:
o Tech Talent Strategy
 On July 16, IRCC launched the open work permit for H-1B Specialty Occupations visa holders, with additional work and study permit options for eligible family members. IRCC reached the program’s intake cap of 10,000 applications submitted within 2 days. Approved applicants receive an open work permit of up to three years in duration, which means they will be able to work for almost any employer anywhere in Canada.
 IRCC is also creating a new Innovation Stream under the IMP, exempt from the LMIA requirement, to enable innovative employers in Canada to hire highly talented individuals.
o Francophone Mobility Stream
 IRCC announced a two-year pilot project on June 15, 2023, which exempts employers from the LMIA requirement for workers in all occupations, except TEER 4/5 workers in primary agriculture, when hiring a foreign national with a moderate level of speaking and listening abilities in French, equivalent to a Canadian language benchmarks (CLB) level 5.
o Open Work Permits for Family Members of Temporary Workers
 Effective January 2023, eligibility for open work permits was expanded to spouses and dependents of workers at all skill levels who come under the IMP as well as those who receive work permits under the High Wage Stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP)

• Starting April 6, 2023, new measures were introduced to allow certain PGWP holders to extend their authorization to work and stay in Canada. This facilitative measure is allowing Canada to retain high-skilled talent.

• In addition, as part of these measures, foreign nationals whose PGWP expires between September 20, 2021, and December 31, 2023, have the opportunity to apply for an additional PGWP valid for up to 18 months. Eligible applicants with expired work permits are able to restore their status, even if they are beyond the 90-day restoration period. Eligible foreign nationals under this facilitative measure have been provided with interim authorization to work while applying for and awaiting processing of a new work permit application to allow them to continue working immediately.

• Talented and skilled international graduates play a vital role in addressing Canada’s labour shortage, and those nearing the end of their PGWP are already well integrated into Canada’s labour market. The additional work permit will allow eligible applicants to continue contributing to the Canadian economy while gaining valuable work experience and preparing for the opportunity to apply for permanent residence.

Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) and Settlement Supports

• IRCC is working closely with Employment and Social Development Canada as the federal lead on the foreign credential recognition program, as well as with provinces and territories, to make collective advancements on foreign credential recognition in Canada.
o The Department can also support provincial and territorial (PT) efforts to coordinate the FCR and immigration selection process for newcomers through their PNP and the AIP.

• Immigration programs are complemented by IRCC-funded pre-arrival and in-Canada settlement services to help permanent residents with their longer-term integration in Canada. Services provided through the Settlement Program provide clients with skills and support to help them prepare for, and connect with, the Canadian labour market. This includes employment counselling, soft-skills training, and job bridging programs.
o The Settlement Program also provides services that inform newcomers of the FCR processes they may need to undertake and refer them to employment resources, such as those funded by ESDC or the provinces and territories.

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