IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2023: Economic Immigration

Context

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Manages Economic Immigration Programs to Support the Development of a Strong Canadian Economy and Ensure that the Benefits of Immigration are Shared Across All Regions.

Economic Immigration

• Economic immigrants are selected for their ability to become economically established and contribute to Canada’s economy. Economic immigration represents the largest share (almost 60%) of annual permanent residence admissions and the volume is growing, as the overall admission levels grow.
• IRCC works closely with provinces and territories to manage the Provincial Nominee Program. Quebec has the exclusive authority over selection of economic immigrants destined to reside in Quebec. Provincial Nominee and Quebec economic immigration allocations are included in the Multi-Year Levels Plan.

Economic Class: Permanent Resident Projected Admissions

• 2023 – 266,210
• 2022 – 281,135
• 2023 – 301,250

Impacts

Principal Applicants

• Principal applicants in the economic category selected for their ability to economically establish have the best outcomes among immigrants in Canada. In the federal skilled programs, average annual earnings of principal applicants surpass the Canadian average soon after becoming permanent residents, and surpass average earnings for all other categories of permanent residents.

Labour Market Needs

• As the largest portion of the annual immigration levels plan, economic immigration programs are often used as levers to meet short and long-term economic and labour market goals.

Pace And Mix

• As an important lever of managed migration, the Minister has the ability to calibrate the impact of economic immigration programs through levels setting, and adjusting the mix of programs and criteria.
• The Department collaborates with provinces/territories and other stakeholders so that their needs and interests are reflected in economic immigration programming.

Current Program

Core Programs

• The vast majority of economic immigrants are selected through a set of longstanding core programs which focus on:
• Human capital factors (e.g. level of education, language proficiency, skilled work experience)
• Labour market needs (e.g. job offers, provincial nominations)
• Resulting in the strongest economic outcomes.
• Each program has distinct objectives aimed at selecting immigrants across a range of skilled occupations (i.e. from entry level to management).

Pilot Programs and Targeted Measures

• A smaller share of economic immigrants are selected via pilot programs geared to specific regions, occupations or sectors or targeted measures introduced in response to unique circumstances

Express Entry Application Management System

• Launched in January 2015, Express Entry is Canada’s flagship application management system for the Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs, including the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class, and the Canadian Experience Class, as well as a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.
• Foreign nationals may express their interest in immigrating to Canada by completing an online Express Entry profile, and individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for at least one of the Federal High Skilled programs are placed in the Express Entry pool. Candidates receive a Comprehensive Ranking System score based on the details in their profile and top-ranking candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence through regular rounds of invitations.
• On May 31, 2023, the Government of Canada announced the launch of category-based selection in Express Entry. Category-based selection allows the Department to target invitations to apply for permanent residence to candidates in the Express Entry pool who are eligible for specific categories established by the Minister to meet identified economic goals. This year, categories include candidates who have strong French-language proficiency, or work experience in the fields of: healthcare; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions; trades, such as carpenters, plumbers and contractors; transport; and agriculture and agri-food.
• Overall, Express Entry provides the Government of Canada with the means to manage the intake of applications for permanent residence under these key economic immigration programs, while also facilitating the selection of individuals who are most likely to succeed in Canada and who can help meet key labour market needs.

Federal Programs

Objective:

• Select and retain skilled workers and business people who can succeed over the long term in the Canadian economy and labour market.
• 2023 target: 111,380

Federal Skilled Worker Class:

• Selects workers on the basis of skilled work experience and high human capital.

Canadian Experience Class:

• Streamlined pathway to transition former students and temporary foreign workers who have skilled work experience in Canada.

Federal Skilled Trades Class:

• Facilitates the immigration of skilled tradespersons in certain industries and sectors.

Start-Up Visa Program:

• Attracts innovative foreign entrepreneurs who can create businesses in Canada that can compete on a global scale.

Self-Employed Program:

• Attracts individuals with experience in the arts or athletics.

Regional Programs

Objective:

• Distribute the benefits of immigration across Canada by selecting skilled workers and entrepreneurs best suited to meet regional economic development and labour market needs.
• 2023 target: 114,000 (not including Quebec Economic)

Provincial Nominee Programs (comprised of 80+ streams):

• Provincial and territorial governments nominate immigrants who can meet regional labour market needs and intend to settle in their jurisdiction.
• 2023 target: 105,500

Quebec economic immigration:

• Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec selects the economic immigrants destined to the province.

Atlantic Immigration Program

• An employer-driven program to help employers hire skilled foreign workers and international graduates from an Atlantic Canadian institution for jobs they have not been able to fill locally. The program aims to support economic growth and retention of newcomers in the Atlantic region.
• Target: 8,500

Pilot Programs and Targeted Measures

Regional
Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (2019-2024):

• A community-driven model, forging innovative partnerships with rural and northern communities, providing them with tools to attract and retain workers in support of regional economic development.

Regional Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (2021- open until intake cap of 500 applications is reached):

• Supports Canadian employers in finding skilled refugees to meet their labour needs by facilitating access to Canada’s existing economic pathways (Provincial Nominee Program, Atlantic Immigration Program, Rural and Northern Immigratio Pilot) for qualified refugees abroad and other displaced people.

Sectoral, Occupational
Caregivers (2019-2024):

• Aims to address labour market needs in caregiving occupations by providing pathways to permanent residence to caregivers from abroad and their families.

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot (2020-2023):

• Provides a new pathway to permanent residence for experienced non-seasonal workers in specific agri-food industries and occupations.

Targeted
Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway (May to November 2021):

• A 2021 temporary pathway created to allow people already in Canada to become permanent residents. Those eligible included international graduates, health care workers, and other essential workers. Uncapped dedicated streams for French-speaking and bilingual temporary residents were also included.

Total applications:

Over 90,000 applications were received. Applications will continue to be processed in 2023.

Federal Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (2023-2025):

• Supports Canadian employers in finding skilled refugees to meet their labour needs through two streams – one for those who have secured a full-time job offer from a Canadian employer and one for those with very high human capital who do not require a job offer. The job offer stream is uncapped, while the no job offer stream is capped at 150 applications per year.

Recent Developments/Next Steps

Higher Economic Immigration

Economic immigration levels have increased, primarily in federal high-skilled and provincial nominee categories. In recent years, the target for economic immigrants has increased with the current 2023 target set at 266,210. The majority of economic immigration comes from federal high-skilled programs and the Provincial Nominee Program.

Higher Transitions to Permanent Residence

Students and workers are increasingly viewed as a promising source of talent that can transition to permanent residence through economic programs. In 2022, over 177,000 former temporary residents became permanent residents.

New Pilot Programs and Targeted Measures

New pilot programs have been created to help respond to policy priorities or labour market needs, including the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and Agri-Food Immigration Pilot.

Longstanding caregiver programming was reconfigured on a pilot basis (2014 and 2019), while the small Start-Up Visa Pilot was made permanent in 2018.

The Temporary Pathway to Permanent Residence was a time-limited measure launched in 2021 to help address challenges in meeting immigration targets due COVID-19-related border closures.

Key Takeaways

• Economic immigration represents the largest share of the immigration levels plan and is seen by the public and stakeholders as having clear benefits to Canada, in responding to Canada’s short- and long-term economic needs.
• Core programs for skilled workers are evidence-based and well-established, consistently generating positive economic outcomes over successive cohorts of immigrants.
• Within the Economic Class, the allocation between federal programs and pilots and provincial nominees has shifted, such that the EE core programs are now allocated a declining share of annual admissions.
• New pilot programs and targeted measures across skill levels have been introduced in recent years to meet specific regional or sectoral needs and to test new approaches (e.g. meeting immigration targets or increasing Francophone immigration).
• Upcoming decisions: Setting the immigration levels including those for the economic immigration programs, and considering the mix of existing and potential new tools (e.g., programs and pilots, Express Entry adjustments) for fine-tuning the system.

“Canada has not only the largest in terms of numbers, but also the most elaborate and longest-standing skilled labour migration system in the OECD.” - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, July 2019.

The economic immigration category includes dependents (immediate family members) who accompany the selected principal applicants.