Blue Bird Blog

The fastest growing industries for newcomers to Canada

Canada is known for having a stable and strong economy. Post-pandemic, the country has seen a strong rebound in several sectors, many of which are seeing rapid growth.

One of the key factors in Canada’s continued economic growth is the country’s high immigration targets. The Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025 shows that Canada will admit 500,000 immigrants a year by the end of 2025.

Out of Canada’s population of over 39,000,000 people, almost 25% identify as immigrants. Newcomers typically arrive in Canada well-suited to fill gaps in the national labour force caused by a large number of retirements or a lack of qualified candidates.

Among employment sectors, some stand out as the fastest growing with the most in-demand skills.

Healthcare

Canadians are living longer and require more medical care for a longer period than in previous generations. This increased demand has Canada’s provinces working hard to attract healthcare workers from abroad. Currently, over 35% of Canada’s physicians, 23% of registered nurses and 39% of dentists are immigrants.

According to the latest job vacancy data from Statistics Canada, as of February 2023, the number of job vacancies in the healthcare industry is the highest across all sectors at 143,800 vacant positions. The nursing sector was particularly hard hit during the pandemic which caused many nurses to require extended leave or to quit the profession altogether.

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been taking steps to make it easier for healthcare workers to become permanent residents such as removing some of the barriers for physicians who were previously considered to be self-employed. Self-employed occupations are not typically eligible for Express Entry.

How to immigrate as a healthcare worker

Many healthcare workers arrive in Canada through an Express Entry program. Express Entry programs target high-skilled candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, or the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

Also, because healthcare is a provincial responsibility, most provinces have streams for healthcare workers under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). For example, Alberta recently created the Dedicated Healthcare Pathway under the Alberta Express Entry Stream.

Other provinces regularly hold PNP draws targeting candidates in healthcare occupations. British Columbia does this type of draw nearly every week and Ontario recently invited 2,349 healthcare candidates through its Human Capital Priorities stream.

There are also two federal pilot programs for caregivers for seniors and children. Earlier this year the government announced that the work experience in Canada required for a caregiver to qualify for permanent residence through these programs was reduced from 24 to 12 months.

Agriculture

Canada’s agriculture sector employs over 243,000 Canadians and currently has a job vacancy rate of more than 14,000.

A recent report by the Royal Bank of Canada shows that by 2033, 40% of Canadian farm operators will retire. The report also says that to offset a short-term skills crisis, Canada must accept 30,000 permanent immigrants over the next decade to establish their own farms and greenhouses or take over existing ones.

How to immigrate to Canada with an agricultural occupation

To fill some of these positions, IRCC recently announced that it is extending the Agri-Food Pilot Program and removing occupational caps. Eligible occupations include:

- Retail butchers

- Industrial butchers

- Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers

- Food processing labourers

- General farm workers

- Harvesting labourers

Like healthcare workers, there are also dedicated streams under some PNPs for agriculture workers.

Tech

One of the main components of the federal budget 2023 was investing $20 billion to support the building of major clean electricity and clean growth infrastructure projects. This investment is likely to lead to increased demand in the tech sector.

It also notes that many of the careers in the clean technology manufacturing sector do not require a university degree, and the average worker compensation in this sector in 2021 was $90,252—well above Canada’s economy-wide average of $69,311.

The growth of the AI sector also plays a part in Canada’s demand for tech workers. Invest in Canada, a government website designed to attract investment in Canada’s tech industry, reports that Canada has 1,032 AI and machine learning companies. In addition, the Global AI Index shows that Canada ranks 4th for its global competitiveness in AI implementation, innovation, and investment.

How to immigrate to Canada with a tech occupation

To bring in more tech workers, IRCC offers programs like the Global Talent Stream. This program is part of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and is designed to encourage the growth of Canada’s tech industry. The program aims to achieve a processing standard of two weeks once the final application is submitted by the potential employee.

There are also targeted draws through the Provincial Nominee Program. Some examples of provincial tech streams include the BC Tech Stream, OINP Tech Draw, Saskatchewan Tech Talent Pathway, and the Alberta Accelerated Tech Pathway.

Source: cicnews.com

Work

How long will it take to become a permanent resident of Canada in 2024?

Foreign nationals seeking permanent residence (PR) in Canada often look for the fastest pathway to achieving their goal and starting a new life in this country.
On a basic level, Canada has four primary immigration classes: economic immigration, family-class sponsorship, humanitarian/compassionate immigration and immigration for refugees/protected persons.
However, within those four general classifications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provides foreign nationals with more than 100 ways to immigrate to Canada.

Finding a job in Ontario

Recently the Ontario provincial government chose to make it illegal for employers to require Canadian work experience in their job advertisements, in addition to making it mandatory for all job postings to feature salaries.
Both steps represent victories, not just for the Ontario labour force (who will now be able to see how the potential salary of a job compares to provincial and national averages); but especially for newcomers to Ontario—who are often held back from roles and professions they are qualified for, based on their lack of Canadian experience.
Considering these two changes, CIC News has compiled the following guide for newcomers looking for a job in Ontario.

Ontario looking to ban employers from requiring Canadian work experience on application forms and in job postings

In a first-of-its-kind move among all Canadian provinces and territories, Ontario has announced its intention to introduce new legislation that would, if passed, ban employers from requiring “Canadian work experience … in job postings or application forms.”
Announced today, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development hopes this new legislation will help more newcomers fill in-demand labour shortages across the province.

Canadian federal court denies work permit based on IELTS score

A citizen of Iran was a home design and renovation manager for seven years. In 2022, she signed an employment contract to work as a Residential Home Builder with a construction company located in Vancouver. The job duties and responsibilities included planning and preparing work schedules, selecting and employing trade subcontractors and managing budgets.

IRCC to review the Post-Graduation Work Permit for first time in 10 years

On October 27th, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced changes to its International Student Program that will be implemented in the coming months to strengthen the program and protect students from fraud.
The measures will require Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) to confirm every applicant’s letter of acceptance directly with IRCC in order to ensure that study permits are issued based only on genuine letters of acceptance.
By the 2024 fall semester, IRCC will adopt a “recognized institution” framework that will be benefit DLIs in a variety of ways, such as priority processing of study permit applications.

Five pathways for tech talent in the U.S. to come to Canada

There are many ways for technology sector workers in the U.S. to come to Canada for work, after which this country also provides these individuals with several pathways to Canadian permanent residence (PR).
Canada has a well-documented need for skilled workers in the tech industry, evidenced most recently by the introduction of category-based Express Entry draws for five different occupational groups.