CIMM – Labour Market Action Measures for Economic Permanent Residence – November 29, 2022

Permanent Residence Measures

The Government is seeking to build on the success of Express Entry to better respond to a range of evolving economic needs and Government priorities.
As announced in the 2022 federal Budget, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was recently amended to authorize the Minister to invite foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence via Express Entry, on a new basis – their eligibility to be members of a category that would support an identified economic goal.
Eligibility requirements to be a member of a category could be based on factors such as specific work experience, educational background, or language skills.
The Department is consulting provincial and territorial partners and stakeholders^{Footnote 1} to inform the development of categories and the first anticipated use of category-based selection in Express Entry is spring 2023.

IRCC implemented National Occupational Classification 2021 in November. As part of that update, sixteen additional occupations have become eligible under the programs managed under Express Entry for the first time.
These includes in-demand occupations such as Residential and Commercial Installers, Heavy Equipment Operators, Nurses’ Aids and Truck Drivers. Eligible applicants in the sixteen occupations will be able to leverage Express Entry’s faster processing times.

I recently announced changes to make it easier for foreign-born physicians to remain in Canada, so they can continue to practice in Canada and bolster our health care system.
Some physicians have faced barriers in accessing permanent residence through Canada’s programs for skilled workers managed under the Express Entry system, as the “fee-for-service” model used in Canada for health care professionals is outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship.
To address this challenge IRCC is exempting physicians, who work in a fee-for-service model with public health authorities, from certain requirements.
This change recognizes the unique employment model used in Canada’s health care system, and will provide physicians with access to Canada’s economic permanent residence programs.

My Department is exploring possible adjustments to the Agri-Food Pilot to continue to facilitate transitions to permanent residence of experienced workers in the agri-food sector.
One such option is the extension of the pilot to continue to accept applications beyond its expiry in May 2023, for up to two additional years.

There is significant growth in regional programs in the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan to support provincial and territorial efforts to address labour market shortages through their nominee programs.

Canada welcomed 70,837 provincial nominees and their families as of September 30, 2022. Admissions have increased by almost 600% between 2005 and 2021.
In 2022, the program represents 35% of all planned economic admissions, making it the largest economic immigration program, and it is the main source of economic immigration for 9 of the 11 participating jurisdictions.

Launched in 2017, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot has brought over 16,500 newcomers to the Atlantic region (as of September 30, 2022). Through the course of the pilot, participating employers have made over 11,000 job offers in key sectors including accommodations and food services, manufacturing and health care. Most significantly, over 90% of applicants were still living in the region after 1 year; a much higher retention rate than other programs. In 2022, the pilot was transitioned to a permanent program. IRCC is continuing to work closely with Atlantic Provinces to ensure a successful transition and strong uptake by employers. While the permanent program only launched this year, uptake has been promising with over 1,100 employers already designated to use the Atlantic Immigration Program to fill labour market needs in the Atlantic economy.

Launched in 2019, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot uses a community-based economic development approach with the aim to support 11 partner communities located in northern Ontario and western Canada. Communities have the ability to set their own local candidate selection criteria allowing them to target labour market needs in priority occupations and sectors.
On September 23, 2022, changes were made to the Pilot, including extending the pilot until August 2024. As of August 31, 2022, there were 1,704 admissions.