Quebec One Of Biggest Users Of Canada’s Global Talent Stream Temporary Immigration Program

Colin Singer
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Quebec One Of Biggest Users Of Canada’s Global Talent Stream Temporary Immigration Program

Canada immigration news: Canada’s Global Talent Stream – a fast-track work permit temporary immigration program – has been frequently used by Quebec’s provincial government to attract in-demand tech sector workers.

Revenu Quebec – the francophone province’s tax authority – currently employs 61 workers and received approval for 83 positions, according to figures from The Logic published in the Montreal Gazette.

The government’s use of the GTS – launched in 2017 to help speed the process of bringing in high-demand workers – comes despite the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) cutting immigration during its time in power.

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The CAQ has placed a focus on bringing in French-speaking newcomers who can quickly integrate into society, but there is no French-speaking requirement under the GTS.

Figures from The Logic show Quebec – currently in the grip of a chronic labour shortage – is one of the biggest users of the GTS in Canada.

Of the 12,837 positions filled through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) stream, 4,824 of them, or 38 percent, have been in Quebec.

Out of all of Canada’s provinces, Quebec businesses have received the most GTS approvals in 10 of the 16 quarters the stream has been operational, according to figures from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

If you are a candidate looking for a Canada job, or an employer looking to recruit foreign talent from abroad, immigration.ca can help. Access our expertise through our in-house recruitment enterprises, www.grnmontreal.com and our newest asset, www.skilledworker.com, “the leader in foreign recruitment”.

Frequent users include IT firm CGI and video game giant Ubisoft.

The CAQ, meanwhile, has moved to increase immigration in 2022, in a sign it is listening to outcry from businesses over labour shortages.

Quebec will welcome up to 70,500 new immigrants in 2022, according to the new Immigration Levels Plan tabled in late October.

The figures, announced by Deputy Immigration Minister Jean Boulet, include 52,500 newcomers under the previously announced plan, and 18,000 intended to make up the deficit of newcomers registered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rebalancing figure is high because Quebec immigration is forecasting that it will fail to reach its 2021 immigration target.

Quebec Immigration in 2022: Breakdown

Economic Category

The economic category will continue to be the dominant one for Quebec immigration, likely contributing up to 46,600 in 2022, or 66 per cent of the total (including rebalancing). Quebec is set to welcome up to 27,800 economic immigrants in 2021.

Family Reunification

Including the rebalancing, family reunification is slated to total 11,600 newcomers in 2022, or 16 per cent of the total, up slightly on the 11,400 expected to be welcomed in 2021.

Refugees

Quebec is planning to welcome up to 9,000 refugees in 2022, when the rebalancing figures are added. This amounts to 13 per cent of the total figure, and is up from 6,300 in 2021.

Other Immigrants

In the ‘other immigrants’ category, Quebec expects to welcome 3,100 newcomers in 2022, or 4 per cent of the total. It will welcome up to 1,600 in the category in 2021.

Earlier in November, Quebec announced it is to make it easier for employers to hire overseas candidates in a slew of high-demand occupations through the TFWP.

The province has published lists of jobs it has submitted to the federal government that will qualify for:

  • simplified work permit processing,
  • exemptions from posting and recruitment efforts, and
  • 10% to 20% increases in thresholds of TFWs per workplace.

The changes, announced by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, are designed to help address chronic labour shortages in the French-speaking province.

A ministry press release said a strong consensus had been reach following meetings with industry stakeholders.

Important sectors covered by the new rules include retail trade, accommodation and catering as well as food processing, where the labour shortages are sharpest.

Canada Immigration Sees Shift In Citizenship Of New Permanent Residents

Colin Singer
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0
Canada Immigration Sees Shift In Citizenship Of New Permanent Residents

Canada immigration news: Nigerians represent the third-highest number of new immigrants to Canada so far in 2021, jumped into the spot previously held by Filipinos.

Federal government figures for the first eight months of the year show nearly 9,500 Nigerians became permanent residents, compared to 9,125 from the Philippines.

So far this year, Nigerians make up 4.3 percent of the total permanent resident arrivals, compared to 3.4 percent in 2020 and 3.7 percent in 2019.

By contrast, citizens of the Philippines make up 4.1 percent of 2021 arrivals, compared to just below 6 percent in 2020 and 8.2 percent in 2019.

Canada Permanent Resident Arrivals By Country Of Citizenship

2021 (to August)

2020

2019

1

India

64,750

India

42,865

India

85,590

2

China

18,510

China

16,525

China

30,245

3

Nigeria

9,495

Philippines

10,975

Philippines

27,820

4

Philippines

9,125

USA

6,380

Nigeria

12,600

5

France

8,290

Nigeria

6,360

Pakistan

10,795

6

USA

6,980

Pakistan

6,230

USA

10,780

7

Brazil

6,915

Syria

4,880

Syria

10,120

8

Iran

6,695

France

4,605

Eritrea

7,030

9

South Korea

4,765

Iran

3,810

South Korea

6,100

10

Pakistan

4,640

Brazil

3,695

Iran

6,055

Meanwhile, the figures for permanent resident arrivals continue to be dominated by Indian citizens.

The 64,750 Indians who have become permanent residents so far in 2021 represents more than 29 percent of the total, up from just over 23 percent in 2020 and 25 percent in 2019.

This shows the continued and strengthening importance of Indians to Canada’s immigration system. With the federal government planning to take annual levels over 400,000 in 2021 and further in 2022 and 2023, Indians will be crucial to ensuring Ottawa meets those ambitious targets.

Chinese citizens, however, have seen a slight drop off in terms of percentages in 2021, to 8.3 percent, compared to nearly 9 percent in the two previous years.

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But it cannot be overstated how important Indian and Chinese citizens are to Canada immigration, between them representing significantly more than a third of arrivals in 2021.

The last two years of immigration to Canada has taken place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a crushing impact on permanent resident arrivals in 2020.

The figures above show that immigration was essentially cut in half by the impact of the pandemic, as travel restrictions were put in place to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

As a result, the life plans of candidates, many of whom had already received a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and were preparing to travel to Canada, were put on hold.

Two-Step Immigration To Canada

Even with the return of permanent resident arrivals in record numbers so far in 2021, Canada’s federal government has overseen a significant shift in policy.

Twice as many new permanent residents to Canada were already in the country on a temporary basis this year compared to before the pandemic.

Figures show a significant boost in new permanent residents previously in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or International Mobility Program (IMP), or studying at a Canadian university or college.

Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, those that had previously had study permits or work experience under the TFWP or IMP amounted to only 21.9 per cent of the 341,175 new permanent residents to Canada.

In 2020, that group became a more important source of new permanent residents to Canada, comprising 27.6 per cent of the 184,585 new permanent residents that year. 

Approaching Half Of New PRs Had Work Or Study Experience in 2021

In its bid to boost immigration to help Canada recover economically from the pandemic, Ottawa turned to this group of skilled – and often highly-educated – foreign nationals again this year.

In the first eight months of the year, the percentage of new permanent residents who had work experience through the TFWP or the IMP or had previously had a study permit allowing them to work in the country swelled to 45.7 per cent of the 222,275 new permanent residents to Canada.

Temporary foreign workers accounted for 5,765, or almost 2.6 per cent, of all new permanent residents to Canada this year. Foreign nationals working in the country under the IMP comprised another 37.4 per cent. And those 12,695 who had come to Canada as students amounted to about 5.7 per cent of all new permanent residents so far this year.

Canada’s COVID-19 Recovery Continues: Top 10 Cities To Find A Job

Colin Singer
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Canada’s COVID-19 Recovery Continues: Top 10 Cities To Find A Job

Canada immigration news: The latest Labour Market Report Card from the Bank of Montreal reveals five Ontario cities dominate the top 10 cities for jobs in Canada as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The latest report, entitled ‘Big-City Bounceback’ saw the likes of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto advance up the rankings, although only the British Columbia giant featured in the top 10.

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“The regional picture was straightforward in Q3, with all provinces posting strong job growth, and seeing employment well above year-ago levels by September,” writes report author Robert Kavcic. 

“Ontario led the pack in the quarter given the timing of shutdowns/reopening in that province.”

The rankings take into account employment, unemployment and population change compared to a year ago.

If you are a candidate looking for a Canada job, or an employer looking to recruit foreign talent from abroad, immigration.ca can help. Access our expertise through our in-house recruitment enterprises, www.grnmontreal.com and our newest asset, www.skilledworker.com, “the leader in foreign recruitment”.

Leading the way was Peterborough in Ontario for the second consecutive quarter, with a nearly 22 per cent rise in employment compared to a year ago, and a fall in unemployment of 5 percentage points, to 6.6 per cent.

The differences are vast because of the impact of COVID-19 restrictions that were in place across Canada at the peak of the pandemic a year ago.

Top 10 Cities To Find a Job In Canada

Employment

Unemployment

Rank

City

Rate

Change

Rate

Change

1

Peterborough, ON

56.7

21.8

6.6

-5

2

Vancouver, BC

64.4

12.5

6.7

-4.6

3

Guelph, ON

67.3

8.8

6

-3.8

4

Edmonton, AB

64.4

9.7

8.2

-4.6

5

Kitchener, ON

63.9

7.1

7.2

-4.8

6

Victoria, BC

58.5

0.9

4.2

-5.2

7

Moncton, NB

66.7

10.8

6.4

-0.8

8

Sherbrooke, QC

61

6.1

4.5

-3.1

9

Ottawa, ON

63.5

5

5.9

-2.7

10

Hamilton, ON

61.9

10.1

6.3

-3.1

12

Montreal, QC

62.3

4.5

6.7

-4

15

Toronto, ON

62

7.6

8.9

4

Source: BMO Labour Market Report Card

“At the city level, strength persists in smaller centres around Toronto. Peterborough, Guelph, Kitchener and Hamilton are all in the top 10 of our ranking,” Kavcic writes.

“The largest urban centres, hard hit early on, are now climbing back with Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal all making relative gains in recent months (and all are now back into the top half of the pack and above pre-COVID job levels).”

In three Canadian provinces – British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta – employment is at or above pre-COVID levels, the figures show. Furthermore, half of the provinces are within 0.5 percent of the levels seen in February 2020.

“Barring an unforeseen setback, the vast majority of the country will see pre-pandemic jobs levels in short order,” Kavcic writes.

In the strongest performing British Columbia, jobs are 1.5 percent above February 2020, with unemployment below 6 percent.

Country-wide Unemployment Nears Pre-Pandemic Levels

Country-wide, Canada’s unemployment rate fell to a 20-month low of 6.7 percent in October, as figures showed a continuing Canada jobs recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unemployment is now just one percentage point higher than the pre-pandemic level of 5.7 percent, recorded in February 2020, according to the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey.

Across Canada, employment grew by 31,000 jobs during the month, spearheaded by a number of industries, including retail trade, where 72,000 jobs were added.

What Were The Labour Force Survey Highlights?

Unemployment rate (%)

6.7

Employment rate (%)

61.0

Labour force participation rate (%)

65.3

Number unemployed

1,365,600

Number working

19,162,400

Youth (15-24) unemployment rate (%)

10.2

Men (over 25) unemployment rate (%)

6.3

Women (over 25) unemployment rate (%)

5.8

Source: Statistics Canada

Provincial Canada Jobs Picture

Provincially, Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick spearheaded gains, while Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan saw decreases in employment levels.

Ontario added 37,000 jobs in October for its fifth consecutive month of increases. The province has gained 353,000 jobs since May for a current employment rate of 7 percent. The latest gains were concentrated in services-producing industries, focusing on retail trade.

Meanwhile, British Columbia added 10,400 jobs, although increases in full-time employment were offset by part-time decreases. 

Unemployment Rates In Canada’s Provinces

Jobs change in last month

Unemployment rate (%)

British Columbia

10,400

5.6

Alberta

-9,000

7.6

Saskatchewan

-6,500

6.2

Manitoba

-3,100

5.3

Ontario

37,000

7.0

Quebec

-300

5.6

New Brunswick

3,000

9.1

Nova Scotia

200

8.3

Prince Edward Island

400

9.1

Newfoundland & Labrador

-800

13.9

CANADA

31,200

6.7

Source: Statistics Canada

New Brunswick saw an increase of 3,000 jobs, concentrated in full-time work for core-aged men, aged 25 to 54. The province has an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent.

Of all the provinces, the lowest unemployment rates are seen in Manitoba (5.3 percent), British Columbia and Quebec (both 5.6 per cent).

Quebec City’s unemployment rate of3.8 percent is the lowest of all the Census Metropolitan Areas. The region has seen “continued year-over-year employment growth in professional, scientific and technical services and, more recently, in other services-producing industries,” according to Statistics Canada.

Canada Jobs By Industry

Two key industries saw important gains in October: retail trade and information, culture and recreation.

Retail trade added 72,000 jobs during the month, with employment returning to pre-pandemic levels for the first time since March 2021.

The mainly full-time gains were concentrated in Ontario and British Columbia.

Information, culture and recreation saw a third consecutive monthly rise, adding 15,000 jobs in October. “The upward trend … coincides with the loosening of capacity limits on recreational facilities, as well as sporting and cultural events, during the summer,” the Statistics Canada reports said.

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