Making Economic Immigration Work for Canada

The Government of Canada is changing the immigration system. We are making it fast and flexible. These changes will attract talented individuals who can start the new businesses our economy needs.

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Transcript: “Making Economic Immigration Work for Canada”

Video length: 5:19

The video opens with a collage of red and blue boxes flying off the screen. The title of the video “Making Economic Immigration Work for Canada” appears as text on the screen. Soft, upbeat music begins. It continues for the duration of the video.

Narrator: Immigration has long been a sustaining feature of Canada’s history and continues to play an important role in building our country and growing our economy.

The title fades to black and white footage as the voiceover continues. The footage shows a crowded metropolitan street, a crosswalk signal that signals “walk,” a busy pedestrian crosswalk with people crossing in both directions.

Narrator: Since 2006, Canada has welcomed the highest sustained levels of immigration in Canadian history, and among the highest per capita rates in the developed world, on average admitting a quarter of a million new permanent residents each year.

Footage shows a large truck speeding by to reveal a busy metropolitan sidewalk, then cuts to another crowded sidewalk. The video cuts to a woman and man sitting at a boardroom table dressed in business suits, smiling and shaking hands.

The scene fades out to a graph titled “Annual Permanent Resident Admissions.” Along the vertical axis of the graph are the numbers 0 through 300,000 in 50,000 increments. The horizontal axis states: “2006 -2012 Annual Average.” A bar on the graph rises to the 250,000 mark.

Narrator: It is imperative that Canada’s immigration system works in the best interests of newcomers, of our economy and all Canadians. We need to focus on attracting individuals with the relevant skills to help fill current and future labour shortages in regions of the country, to help grow our economy and spur job creation. And we need to ensure they can participate fully in our economy and society upon arrival.

The video cuts to various clips of men and women in business meetings: men and women in a meeting; two men discussing something on a tablet computer; another group of men and women dressed in business attire. 

The footage then cuts to a wide-angle shot of a dimly lit workshop where a welder works. The video cuts to a close-up of his face, lit by sparks. The video cuts to a health-care worker taking care of an elderly patient. A wider shot shows the health-care worker taking the patient’s blood pressure. The video then cuts to two men inspecting a construction site.

Narrator: That is why the Government of Canada is making transformational changes to our immigration system, moving toward a fast and flexible system that attracts the talented and entrepreneurial individuals our economy needs.

A collage of blue and red boxes fly off the screen to reveal a beige background and text: “Express Entry.”

A montage shows: A group of people collaborating in a classroom-type setting; people walking around on a busy urban street; and a group of people working with computers in a computer lab setting.

Narrator: Express Entry, launched in January 2015, is a key part of this. Its goal is to make the system faster and more flexible. It will improve how Citizenship and Immigration Canada accepts and processes applications, which will mean:

A light blue background with the text “Faster and more efficient processing” and “Better ability to respond to Canada’s labour market” appears on screen.

Narrator:

• faster and more efficient processing; and
• better ability to respond to Canada’s labour market.

A montage shows: A group of people working with computers in a computer lab setting; three woman are shown looking forward; people working in a laboratory setting; and a mechanic working on a vehicle.

Narrator: Under Express Entry, we will only accept applications from people we have invited to immigrate to Canada under certain economic immigration programs. This will prevent the growth of backlogs by ensuring that only the candidates who are most likely to succeed—not simply the first to submit their application—are able to apply to immigrate to Canada.

Blue and red squares float in and out of view. The text “Federal Skilled Worker Program” appears on screen.

A montage shows: People walking on a busy urban street; a woman signing a document; a teacher instructing a class in front of a whiteboard; a woman writing on a whiteboard; a construction crew at work; a man receiving paperwork from another man seated at a computer; a woman using a laptop computer and another woman joins her.

Narrator: In addition, applications under the new Federal Skilled Worker Program are evaluated according to an updated points system that is based on extensive research on the factors most associated with economic success of newcomers. By assigning more weight to language proficiency, improving the assessment of educational credentials, and favouring younger applicants and applicants with pre-arranged job offers, we expect to see economic outcomes of newcomers improve.

Blue and red squares float in and out of view. The text “Start–Up Visa Program ” appears on screen.

A montage shows: Three people collaborating in a boardroom; a man servicing high tech equipment; and an airplane in flight.

Narrator: The government has also introduced two new economic immigration programs. The new Start-Up Visa Program, the first of its kind in the world, will allow innovative, in-demand immigrant entrepreneurs who have secured investments from Canadian venture capital organizations or angel investors to get permanent status in Canada. This program aims to spark economic growth and job creation. We are committed to positioning Canada as a serious competitor for global talent and seek to attract the world’s best and brightest.

Blue and red squares float in and out of view. The text “Federal Skilled Trades Program” appears on screen.

Narrator: The government has also created the new Federal Skilled Trades Program. For too long, Canada’s immigration system failed to recognize the expertise of skilled tradespeople. The Skilled Trades Program identifies the types of tradespeople that are in short supply across the country and clears a path for them to bring those skills here.

The video once again shows the collage of blue and red boxes. The boxes fly off the screen to reveal the text: “Federal Skilled Trades Program” on a beige background.

The video then cuts to footage of various tradespeople working: a man repairing hydro lines; two men digging up patio stones and concrete; three men working on a residential construction site; two men working on a large construction site.

Narrator: The Canadian Experience Class, created in 2008, is Canada’s fastest growing economic immigration program. This program provides a pathway to permanent residency for international student graduates and skilled foreign workers, as Canada seeks to capitalize on the Canadian work experience and language skills these individuals possess, which make these newcomers set for success in the Canadian labour market.

The video cuts to a collage of blue and red boxes flying off the screen to reveal a beige background and the text: “Canadian Experience Class.”

The footage then shows a series of clips of a man in a collegiate-looking building. The camera pans down a large staircase to show the man walking through an atrium; the man walks down the exterior steps of a university building with large white pillars; the man is sitting on one of the steps of the building, reviewing a binder. The video cuts to a close-up of the binder to show test papers and then quickly cuts back to the man’s face.

Narrator: The Provincial Nominee Program continues to be the second largest economic immigration program and allows provinces and territories to nominate individuals that best meet regional labour market needs. Work continues with provincial and territorial partners to strengthen the design, management, accountability and integrity of the Provincial Nominee Program and to ensure a strong economic focus, so that the program is well placed to meet regional labour market needs. Recent steps include introducing language requirements for low-skilled nominees and eliminating redundant immigration streams.

The video cuts to a collage of blue and red boxes flying off the screen to reveal a beige background and the text: “Provincial Nominee Program.”

The video then cuts to a health-care worker examining a patient. Then the video cuts to a close-up of a piece of x-ray equipment turning on before cutting back to the health-care worker examining the patient.

The video cuts to people walking on a crowded sidewalk. The footage then shows a series of clips of a woman: approaching and walking into a building; meeting with a counsellor; walking and conversing with the counsellor. The video cuts to another busy pedestrian scene.

Narrator: Immigration is an integral part of Canada’s economic success. We want to remain highly competitive and attract the world’s best and brightest to Canada. As such, it is essential that our immigration system function in a highly efficient and effective manner. It must employ fair rules, ensure their consistent application, enhance economic prosperity and job growth, and offer newcomers the best possible chance of success in Canada. That is the reason for our transformational changes ¾ we are creating a faster, fairer and more flexible immigration system that will benefit immigrants and Canadians alike.

The video cuts to a collage of blue and red boxes that fly away to reveal a beige background and the text: “Immigration is an integral part of Canada’s economic success.”

The video cuts to a man using a microscope, then a woman studying a test tube.

The video cuts to various shots identifying Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s headquarters, then cuts to a plane coming in for a landing.

The footage then shows various clips of people walking on crowded sidewalks: people dressed for winter weather; people dressed for fall weather; a man walking between stopped cars. Then the video cuts to a man working on an automotive production line before once again showing a busy pedestrian crossing.

Narrator: For more information on immigrating to Canada, please visit cic.gc.ca/immigrate.

The video once again shows a collage of blue and red boxes. The boxes fly away to reveal a beige background and the text: “cic.gc.ca/immigrate.”

The screen fades to black and the music ends. The Citizenship and Immigration federal identity logo appears on the screen.

The Canada wordmark appears and the video fades to black.

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