Blue Bird Blog

Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey reveals signs of healthy employment, as the country’s economy continues to normalise after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the latest report covering September of 2023, Canada’s unemployment rate—the number of unemployed individuals in the country over the age of 15, divided by the country’s total labour force (population aged 15 and older)—was stable at 5.5%, seeing little change from the start of the year.

Canadians in six provinces across the country will now see a boost to hourly minimum wage rates.
This move follows a timeline that was reported on back in April this year. The list below outlines exactly how much hourly minimum wages in each of the six impacted provinces have risen as of this past Sunday (October 1, 2023).

Many Canadian work permit holders will, at some point, look to extend or change their permit to continue being employed in Canada.
If you are a foreign national in this position, it is important to understand that your ability to continue working after your permit expires depends on when you applied for a permit extension/change.
More specifically, only temporary workers who applied for a work permit extension/change prior to the conclusion of their original permit are eligible to continue working after their first permit expires*.

Last week, Canada's immigration department implemented major changes that have been influenced by a recent study it commissioned.
The purpose of the changes is to improve the operations of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Earlier this year, IRCC received a report from one of its previous Deputy Ministers, Neil Yeates, on how IRCC can become a more effective and efficient department. Yeates' report was commissioned by IRCC to evaluate whether the department's current structure best enables it to achieve its mandate.

Canada is a top destination for international students. Immigration Minister Marc Miller has shared that Canada is on track to host around 900,000 international students in 2023. However, recent data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) suggests that number may be low.