One of the main topics discussed at a recent meeting of premiers in Victoria, British Columbia, was how to recruit and retain skilled foreign workers.
Canada has a labor shortage as a result of its historically low unemployment rate, which is now 4.9 percent. An unusually low birth rate and the retirement of many of Canada’s older workers are two major causes of the deficit.
Many believe that immigrants are a key component of the response to the labor deficit. According to the Immigration Level Plan 2022-2024, more than 450,000 new permanent residents will be welcomed into Canada by 2024. However, some provinces argue that this figure is insufficient to bridge the labor gap in Canada.
For instance, Monte McNaughton, the minister of immigration for the province of Ontario, has stated that roughly twice as many skilled economic immigrants are needed in Ontario. The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which allowed the province to choose 9,000 candidates in 2021, has upped the allocation for 2022 to 9,700.
A shared obligation is an immigration
Immigration law is under the jurisdiction of the federal government, provinces, and territories. With the exception of Nunavut, each province and territory have a bilateral agreement with IRCC, which outlines how this obligation is divided and the maximum number of new immigrants a province may consider to come from the economic class.
Prime Ministers agreed at the conference that provinces need more control over immigrants entering their territories. Doug Ford told the Toronto Star during a visit to Victoria that he prefers a system similar to that in Quebec, which selects about 90% of economic-class immigrants.
The majority of the time, premiers get together at least once a year to address concerns that they have in common and then come together to make a case to the federal government for more funding. Provincial interests are represented in the federal government of Canada by premiers, who are the province’s political leaders. Three territories and ten provinces make up Canada.
Generally speaking, the premiers have sent IRCC a few important proposals that they think will improve the flow of skilled labor into the provinces.
Encourage international students
In order to support the labor shortage, international students are an important resource, but they could have trouble securing work visas after they have completed their graduation. The Premiers are asking the federal government to remove obstacles prohibiting foreign students from participating in government employment programs in order to ensure that international students who have received an education in Canada stay in Canada.
As part of this, provinces and territories will work together to improve Postgraduate Work Permits (PGWP). The aim is to facilitate a smoother transition to permanent residency and to help foreign students meet local labor needs.
PGWP holder graduates are able to stay in Canada as well as they are allowed to work for up to three years once they completed their education. Prior to submitting a permanent residency application, they can make use of this time to work.
The expansion of provincial nominee programs
According to state-federal immigration, states can choose the skilled foreign employees they feel are most suited to living in their state. Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) are used to accomplish this. To handle applications for permanent residency from candidates who have received provincial nominations, premiers are requesting extra funding.
The ITCC’s immigration level plan now allocates a specific number of slots for qualified immigrants to receive provincial enrollment. As was mentioned, some provinces, such as Ontario, feel that the current provincial allocation is inadequate and would like to see a substantial increase in numbers. This can guarantee that most economic immigrants moving to the province are employable.
In order to ensure that multiyear plans take expanding provincial labor demands and priorities into account, the provinces urge coordination between each province and the federal government.
