Canada is currently aiming all its attention on encouraging domestic immigration candidates to apply for Permanent Residence (PR) owing to the lack of international travel and increasing Immigration rates. Though the pandemic has blocked the Canadian economy, experts suggest high immigration rates are a sign of quick and long-term recovery. By the end of 2021, Canada aims to accommodate a total of 401,000 fresh PRs, thereby depending on foreign nationals residing in the country. The Canadian Government believes immigrants could overturn this economic crisis by filling labor market gaps and generating new jobs.

Labor Market benefits thanks to In-Canadian experience

A study conducted by Statistics Canada suggests that individuals having work experience while residing in Canada are 8% more likely to perform well in the job market than others, inclusive of overseas immigrants possessing pre-arranged employment. Reasons could be increased proficiency in English and/or French, adaptability to the work culture there, etc.

Top 3 Canadian PR pathways

Canadians residing in Canada generally opt for one of these to convert into PRs.

Canadian Express Entry:

News from 2021 denotes the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) hosting Express Entry draws pertaining to 2 programs: CEC (Canadian Experience Class) and PNP (Provincial Nominee Program) as the likelihood of the candidates being in Canada is higher. Eligibility for CEC requires at least a year’s experience in Canada, intention to live outside Quebec, and a minimum CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks) of 5 or 7.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP):

Every province’s/territory’s PNP permits their governments to nominate those who are addressing their own labor shortages for PR. With the possession of their own immigration programs, these bodies respond better to their job market necessities.

Quebec:

Its own immigration programs, two popular ones being the Quebec Experience Program (targeting graduated international students and temporary workers with relevant experience), the Regular Skilled Worker Program [involves a points-system called CSQ (Quebec Selection Certificate)].

Novel PR pathways

Canada plans to launch 6 new programs on the 6th of May 2021 as denoted below with their respective quotas:

• For health care workers (20,000)
• For workers in other essential occupations (30,000)
• For international graduates (40,000)
• For French-speaking health care workers (nil)
• For French-speaking workers in other essential occupations (nil)
• For French-speaking international graduates (nil)

These programs fixated the addition of 90,000 fresh PRs in Canada. An IRCC spokesperson revealed, “The 2021 Annual Report will display this new pathway coupled with associated adjustments for new priorities and developments. These will form a part of the 2022 levels planning process.”