CIMM - Talent Attraction - December 4, 2025

Key Messages

• Canada is attracting the best talent in the world to grow the economy while restoring balance and control to rebuild Canadians’ trust in the immigration system.
• This is a targeted approach. It is being done within the space of the Levels Plan.
• The Talent Attraction Strategy will focus on high-skilled workers in priority sectors facing ongoing labour shortages as a complement to our domestic workforce.
• It will also attract talent to support Canada’s innovative, emerging and high-growth industries, helping boost productivity and strengthen economic growth and resilience.
• As an early measure and as announced in Budget 2025, the government proposes a targeted, one-time initiative to recruit over a thousand highly qualified international researchers to Canada. The expertise of these researchers will help advance our global competitiveness and contribute to the economy of the future.

Talent Attraction Strategy

• In response to the mandate commitment to attract the best talent in the world while keeping overall immigration rates at sustainable levels, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) worked with other government departments on actions to ensure that Canada continues to attract the highly skilled international talent that is needed to grow the economy.
• The Strategy comprises a series of initiatives to prioritize, target, attract and retain top international talent in Canada. These are people with the skills, education and experience that Canada’s labour market needs, and will complement existing labour force and workforce development initiatives.

Key initiatives include:

• As announced in Budget 2025, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s “international research and talent recruitment strategy” will attract approximately 1,000 academics (along with their families) in priority research areas. IRCC will support this initiative by providing account manager services for employers, and priority processing of work permits. To contribute to research excellence in Canada, Budget 2025 proposes to provide up to $1.7B for a suite of recruitment measures:
  • $1B over 13 years, starting in 2025–2026, to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research to launch an accelerated research Chairs initiative to recruit exceptional international researchers to Canadian universities.
  • $400M over seven years, starting in 2025–2026, to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to establish a complementary stream of research infrastructure support to ensure these recruited Chairs have the equipment they need to conduct research in Canada.
  • $133.6M over three years, starting in 2026–2027, to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research to enable top international doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows to relocate to Canada.
  • Up to $120M over 12 years, starting in 2026–2027, to the granting councils to support universities’ recruitment of international assistant professors, as appropriate.
• Additional initiatives led by IRCC include alignment of permanent residency pathways to retain top talent who enter Canada as temporary workers, global skills missions to connect employers in priority industries with the top talent that they need, and a multi-pronged domestic and international outreach campaign to inform employers and targeted talent about Strategy initiatives, and facilitate entry.
• Furthermore, to strengthen Canada's innovation ecosystem, address labour shortages and attract top talent in healthcare, research, advanced industries and other key sectors, in the coming months IRCC will develop and launch an accelerated pathway for H1-B visa holders.
• The Strategy positions immigration to best support the government’s main priorities, including building homes and infrastructure, supporting economic growth, productivity and innovation, and ensuring access to publicly funded healthcare.
• Talent attraction efforts will not increase the overall volume of temporary and permanent residents entering Canada. The Talent Attraction Strategy is focused on maximizing the value of each individual Levels space by targeting the top talent that Canada needs to fill current and projected labour market gaps in priority industries, and to create innovation in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence.

Provincial and Territorial Engagement

• IRCC has consulted provinces and territories throughout the summer on the development of the Talent Attraction Strategy via the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration table. These discussions have highlighted provincial and territorial interests in recruiting top-level talent to fulfil regional economic and labour market needs.

Settlement Services/Foreign Credential Recognition

• It is often challenging to both attract and retain individuals in regulated professions, where we currently face some of Canada’s most pressing labour needs. Credential recognition of foreign education or experience remains a barrier for internationally trained professionals arriving in Canada. If their credentials are not recognized, they can end up underemployed, which undermines their earning potential and represents a loss for Canada’s economic growth.
• Provinces and territories have primary jurisdiction over regulated occupations, and often delegate this authority to independent regulatory and licensing bodies.
• The federal government plays a coordinating role—bringing together key partners, providing information and supports, and facilitating access to programs and services that help newcomers obtain credential recognition.
• IRCC, in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada and provincial and territorial partners, works to address barriers with Foreign Credential Recognition for newcomers.
• Our government is actively working with the provinces and territories to make credential recognition fairer, faster, and more transparent, helping qualified foreign-trained professionals contribute more quickly to Canada’s workforce, including in fields facing labour shortages, such as health care and construction.