The Canadian tech industry is flourishing, and industry expansion is anticipated to continue to outpace the availability of qualified tech professionals in the labor force. A combination of new ventures and major corporations, such as Google and Amazon, investing more money and expanding their operations in Canada, is what’s fueling this expansion. Over 250,000 technicians work in Toronto alone as a result of these investments becoming a significant component of the Canadian economy.
Due to the growing demand for talented technical professionals, the federal and state governments offer a number of permanent residences and work permit options to help employers attract people from the outside world. If you are a technical employee or employee, this article outlines some common options.
Temporary work permit
TFWP helps Canadian companies find the international talent they need. It also ensures that these international employees receive the rights and assurances they need to work safely in Canada.
Global Talent Stream
The IT industry frequently chooses the Global Talent Stream (GTS) option. The application will be finished within two weeks following the applicant’s final submission. It is meant to promote the expansion of Canada’s information technology sector. This path can be used by workers who desire to establish permanent residency. serves as a temporary work permit.
This is thought of as a part of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP), where firms must first qualify for a neutral or positive labor market effect evaluation from the Canadian Employment and Social Development (ESDC) before employing. You must get LMIA. Employing workers from outside is evaluated by ESDC to determine whether it has a favorable, unfavorable, or no effect on the Canadian labor market. Additionally, the employer must fit into one of two categories to qualify for employment under this program:
Category A: EDSC customers who communicate with the company through partners belong to this group. A reference partner is often a municipality, a regional, a government subsidiary, or an authorized company to support the local economy. The staff employed in this group have extensive experience in specific areas of the technology industry. If the candidate’s position is on the Global Talent list, the employer must apply in category B.
Category B: For organizations looking for workers from a diverse pool of skills, such as software engineers, designers, or computer systems analysts. The government has admitted that Canada’s workforce lacks the necessary qualifications for these highly sought-after positions.
Labor Market Benefit plan
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) aims to make certain that there are no negative effects on the Canadian labor market when a company uses the Global Talent Stream to hire someone from outside of Canada. To achieve this, they demand that businesses engage in actions that will have a long-lasting, favorable impact on the Canadian labor market.
Through your hiring of highly trained foreign workers, a Labour Market Benefits Plan will assist you and ESDC in identifying and monitoring the commitments that will boost the Canadian economy.
An example A strategy outlining how recruiting under the GTS would result in more jobs being created for Canadians and permanent residents is required.
Category B LMBPs are required to explain how they will increase their investment in training Canadian citizens and permanent residents in in-demand IT skills.
Both categories have conditions related to the payment of qualified workers. The pay for people employed through the Global Talent Stream must be at or above the standard rate.
The highest pay option is the prevailing wage:
- The average salary for positions in the Government of Canada Job Bank.
- wages to the amount that the company pays now employed personnel in the same role, in the same area, with the same qualifications;
- the occupations listed on the Global Talent list’s minimum wage threshold.
CUSMA
The Canada, United States, and Mexico Agreement may apply to a firm that hires IT talent from outside of North America (CUSMA). It is a short-term work permit, similar to the GTS.
This accord may make it easier for talent to move between nations. The agreement is divided into two additional categories that apply to IT professionals.
Professionals: 63 professions fall under the professional group and are eligible for CUSMA. System analysts and software engineers, for example, are well-known tech professionals that may qualify.
Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs): ICTs happen when workers from global corporations relocate to the branch of the company in Canada. A person in management or with other specialized skills is frequently the transferee.
Non-CUSMA ICTs
International companies that qualify for ICT do not always have to be based in Mexico or the United States. Employees from other countries can move to Canada if an organization with a branch is established there where the employer is not required to have an LMIA.
Ways to become a Canadian citizen permanently
Those with technical skills may wish to immigrate to Canada permanently. For highly skilled IT professionals, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) or Express Entry Immigration Program is the most popular route to permanent residency.
Express Entry
The government of Canada’s main entry stream for skilled immigrants is called Express Entry.
Express Entry offers for permanent residency are typically extended to applicants with a background in technology.
The purpose of Express Entry is to speed up the application process for skilled workers. Popular options for quick entrance include the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). The National Occupational Codes 0, A, or B, which make up the majority of IT jobs, are required for participation in this program.
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program, as an alternative, may qualify applicants for Express Entry if they have accrued one year of work experience in Canada during the previous three years.
Express Entry consists of two steps:
- Before applying, candidates must determine whether they qualify for the program.
- If they meet the requirements, they must upload a profile to the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Based on the applicant’s employment history, educational background, language skills, and other human capital indicators in their profile, IRCC will award a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Those candidates who score higher increase the chances that an applicant will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residency in Canada.
Nearly every two weeks, the IRCC conducts a draw. Within 60 days applicants have to submit their complete profile and required documents to IRCC after receiving the ITA.
Tech talent streams with provincial nominations
In Canada, there are more than 100 different ways of economic immigration, many of which are a component of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Quebec and Nunavut are the only provinces and territories that haven’t worked with the IRCC. Through these initiatives, provincial governments are able to choose applicants who they believe will fit well in their jurisdictions. For the purpose of luring IT talent, several Canadian provinces have immigration programs.
A quick list of provincial IT talent streams is provided below:
British Columbia Tech Stream: Candidates must have an employment offer of at least one year and be qualified for one of British Columbia’s immigration programs in order to be considered for this stream.
ONIP Tech Stream: Applicants must be qualified for the (CEC) Canadian Experience Class or the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) in order to be taken into consideration for this Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.
Saskatchewan Tech Talent Pathway: The SINP (Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program) Job Approval Letter must be tailored to the employer and be for a position in the qualified technological sector. They must have at least a year’s worth of job experience in that field within the previous five years.
Alberta Accelerated Tech Pathway: Applicants who want to be eligible for the Alberta Express Entry program must fulfill the eligibility requirements of the province. One of Alberta’s 23 skilled occupations must be their current employer or job offer.
Quebec
The state-run immigration program for the province of Quebec is called the Quebec Immigration Program for Workers who fall under the profession Visual Effect department, Information Technology (IT), or Artificial Intelligence.
Within the scope of this program, there are two tech categories:
Artificial Intelligence (AI):
You can qualify for this stream in one of two ways. Candidates who attended colleges or universities in Quebec must have work experience and a job offer. If the applicant received their training abroad, they may not need a job offer, but they must show that they have completed coursework that is comparable to a bachelor’s degree in Quebec.
IT and Visual Effects streams:
Out of the previous five years, applicants must have two years of work experience in one of the 10 approved occupations. It also requires a job offer in that field and the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree or a Quebec technical studies certification.
