Question Period Note: Foreign Credential Recognition

Canada’s persistent underutilization of internationally trained professionals is negatively impacting productivity, economic growth and the ability to meet labour market needs due, in part, to inefficient foreign credential recognition (FCR), which can be lengthy, complicated, and costly.

The underutilization of internationally trained professionals is affecting Canada’s productivity, economic growth and the ability to meet labour market needs.

Foreign credential recognition is a significant barrier for internationally trained professionals who have come to Canada to work in regulated occupations, such as doctors, nurses and engineers, or compulsory trades, like electricians.

While provinces and territories are largely responsible for foreign credential recognition, the Government of Canada’s Foreign Credential Recognition Program is helping to make FCR processes faster and more efficient. 

We announced the creation of a new Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund, where we will work with provinces and territories to make credential recognition fairer, faster, and more transparent, helping internationally trained professionals contribute more quickly to Canada’s workforce.

Since 2018, the Program has directly supported over 40,000 internationally trained professionals through foreign credential recognition loans and employment supports, while thousands more have benefited from improvements to foreign credential recognition systems and processes.

Our investments are helping to support the labour market integration of internationally trained professionals so that they can fully use their talents and qualifications.

FCR aims to protect the health and safety of Canadians and verify that the knowledge and skills acquired outside of Canada are comparable to Canadian standards.

In Canada, outside of a few federally regulated occupations, FCR and licensure are provincial and territorial responsibilities that are often further delegated through legislation to regulatory authorities. Each regulatory authority is responsible for establishing the education, training, and licensing standards for professions in its jurisdiction.

Internationally trained professionals must have their credentials assessed and obtain licensure or certification before they can practice or use the title designated for a given regulated occupation.

Through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP), the Government of Canada helps to develop and strengthen Canada’s foreign credential assessment and recognition capacity, contributes to improving labour market integration of internationally trained professionals, and enhances labour mobility in targeted occupations and sectors.

The FCRP is a contributions program that supports the labour market integration of internationally trained professionals by providing funding to provinces and territories, regulatory authorities and other organizations to:

improve FCR processes to make them faster and more efficient;

provide loans and support services to help internationally trained professionals through the FCR process; and

provide employment supports, such as training, work placements, wage subsidies, mentoring and coaching, to help internationally trained professionals gain Canadian work experience in their field of study.

The Program also supports collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial governments to improve FCR across Canada by sharing information and best practices, and promotes the implementation of Chapter Seven of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement to facilitate labour mobility for certified workers.

Budget 2025 announced $97 million over five years, starting in 2026-27, for Employment and Social Development Canada to establish the Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund and work with the provinces and territories to improve the fairness, transparency, and timeliness of foreign credential recognition, with a focus on health and construction sectors. This funding would be sourced from existing departmental resources.

This builds on investments in the healthcare and construction sectors through Budget 2024 additional funding for the Program of $50 million over two years starting in 2024-2025 and Budget 2022 investments of $115 million over five years starting in 2022-2023 and $30 million ongoing for the Program.

Since 2015, the Program has invested nearly $348 million in 137 initiatives to support internationally trained professionals. This includes an investment of approximately $102 million in 56 systems improvement projects. For example, with FCRP support (from May 2021 to November 2023), the National Nursing Assessment Service introduced an Expedited Service in June 2023, which reduced the credential assessment process by 85% (from 12 months to 6 weeks) and reduced the cost by 40% (from $1,250 to $750).

From 2018 to 2022, the FCRP funded 12 organizations to provide FCR loans. During this period, almost $17 million in loans were issued to over 1,800 individuals. As of April 2025, 56% of borrowers have completed the FCR process and 63% have found employment in their field of expertise or related occupation, with a default rate of only 6%.

In 2022-2023, the FCRP launched seven new 10-year FCR loans agreements totaling $43 million that are now issuing new loans. As of October 2025, over $13 million in loans have been issued to over 1,400 individuals to help with FCR related expenses. As of October 2025, 33% of borrowers have successfully completed the FCR process, and 44% have secured employment in their field of expertise or related occupation with a default rate of only 2%.

Results from the Program’s employment support projects are also positive. Since 2021, over 13,000 individuals have been provided with employment supports. Of the projects that concluded in 2024-2025, 63% of participants have gained Canadian work experience relevant to their profession or field of study and 51% have found employment in their field of expertise or an alternative career. As of October 2025:

4,371 internationally trained professionals gained Canadian work experience in their field of expertise or alternative career;

3,995 found employment in their field of expertise or alternative career; and

2,633 completed the FCR process.

Altogether, the Program has helped over 8,400 individuals complete the FCR process through the FCR loans and employment support projects since 2018, including 785 in the first two quarters of 2025-2026.

The Program supports the Government’s mandate to attract the best talent in the world to help build our economy, while returning our overall immigration rates to sustainable levels, and commitment to work with provinces and territories to streamline and speed up recognition of foreign credentials and international professional experience, so that those who come to Canada can contribute their skills to the economy more quickly upon arrival.

KEY FACTS

Immigrants are critical to the economy and have significantly contributed to Canada’s labour force (88% from 2019-2024) and employment growth (89% from 2019-2024).1

However, they continue to face labour market barriers. In 2021, more than 25% of all working-age immigrants with an international bachelor’s degree or higher worked in jobs that only required a high-school diploma or less.2

The economic impact of the underutilization of immigrants is estimated to be a loss of approximately $50 billion to GDP, or 2.5%.3

Internationally trained professionals who come to Canada to work in regulated occupations face complex, long, and costly FCR and licensure processes.

Since 2015, the Program has invested nearly $348 million in 137 initiatives to support internationally trained professionals.

Altogether, the Program has helped over 8,400 individuals complete the FCR process through the FCR loans and employment support projects since 2018, including 785 in the first two quarters of 2025-2026.

While provinces and territories are responsible for FCR and further delegate this authority to regulatory authorities through legislation, the Government of Canada supports the labour market integration of internationally trained professionals through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program with an annual budget of $57.3 million.