Newfoundland and Labrador immigration is booming this year as workers move to the Atlantic Canadian province through economic immigration programs ahead of an anticipated surge in the Rock’s rate of economic growth next year.
In the first eight months of this year, immigrants have been settling in Newfoundland and Labrador at almost three times the rate as seven years ago.
In 2015, the Rock welcomed 1,120 new permanent residents. Based on the trend during the first eight months of this year, the province is on track to welcome 3,015 new permanent residents this year.
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That level of immigration, if the current trend continues through to the end of the year, would mean a spike in the rate of immigration of 47.1 per cent over the 2,050 new permanent residents that settled in Newfoundland and Labrador last year.
The projected level of immigration to the province would also be 62.5 per cent higher than the 1,855 new permanent residents who settled there in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The and Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is on track to help 750 new permanent residents come to Newfoundland and Labrador this year, up 340 newcomers or 82.9 per cent from the 410 in 2021.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is also doing brisk business this year and is on track to welcome 930 new permanent residents for the year based on the trend during the first eight months of 2022.
That would be an increase of 420 new permanent residents through the province’s PNP, or 82.3 per cent more than the 510 new permanent residents through it last year.
The biggest spike in numbers through the immigration programs on the Rock this year, though, is in the number of new permanent residents through the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR-to-PR) one-time pathway which is projected to welcome 315 newcomers to the province this year.
That would be a jump of 210 from 105 through that pathway in 2021 and represent a jump of 200 per cent.
Family sponsorship programs in Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to show growth of 24.3 per cent, with the number of new permanent residents arriving through them this year expected to hit 217, up 42 from the 175 last year.
And refugee programs are showing similar growth, expected to end the year up 22 per cent or 112 new permanent residents for a total or 622 newcomers.
Immigration To Newfoundland Fuelling Population Growth Unmatched There In The Last Half Century
Immigration to Newfoundland and Labrador is so strong as to drive the fastest rate of growth the province had seen in more than half a century during the second quarter of this year.
“Newfoundland and Labrador welcomed more people from April to July of this year than in all of 2021,” said provincial Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne.
“Our population is surging while employment continues to steadily increase. This speaks to the contributions our new residents are making to our economy and the work of our government to upskill and retrain workers for impactful careers in the provincial workforce.”
Statistics Canada figures show Newfoundland and Labrador’s population jumped by 2,929 people in the second quarter of this year, its fastest population increase since 1971.
That was music to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey’s ears.
“Our government recognizes the critical importance of immigration and we continue to work hard to grow our population,” said Furey.
“Provincial population growth, by quarter, is at a 51-year high as increasing numbers of newcomers and expatriates are choosing Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Immigration to the Rock had been growing steadily prior to the pandemic.
In 2016, the number of new permanent residents jumped 7.1 per cent, to 1,200, over the previous year.
There was a dip the following year of 1.5 per cent as the number of new permanent residents slid back down to 1,185 but that was more than offset with a jump of 28.7 per cent, or 340 additional new permanent residents, as the annual tally hit 1,525 in 2018.
In 2019, immigration rose again, that time by 21.6 per cent, to hit 1,855 new permanent residents.
Newfoundland And Labrador Shooting For Ambitious Growth In Immigration
With the pandemic public health restrictions, border closures and travel restrictions, immigration to Newfoundland and Labrador plummeted much as it did for all Canadian provinces and territories. By the end of 2020, only 900 new permanent residents had settled in the province that year, a drop of 46.1 per cent.
Last year, though, immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador roared back to life, soaring 127.8 per cent, or 1,150 new permanent residents, and the Rock welcomed another 2,050 new permanent residents.
Certainly, Newfoundland is bullish on immigration.
Last year, the province launched the Pathways Job Matching program which is designed to help employers fill full-time jobs and newcomers find work more easily.
“By directly matching employers in need with people wanting to live and work here, we are helping to address the workforce needs of employers and support population growth,” said Byrne.
“Participating employers provide details on their vacant full-time jobs. Then, qualifying newcomers provide their job qualifications. Once that occurs, our staff begin matching newcomers who need jobs with employers who need workers.”
Here’s how the new program works:
Employers looking for workers visit the Pathways Job Matching program website and provide information on their full-time job openings. They can then submit details about their workforce needs on an ongoing basis and can e-mail the province to get answers to any questions they might have at [email protected].
Newfoundland and Labrador is trying to almost triple the number of new immigrants that settle in the province from its pre-Covid-19 pandemic high of 1,850 in 2019 to 5,100 new permanent residents per year in 2026 in a bid to resolve labour shortages there.
GTS and TFWP Provide Employers With Access To Foreign Workers To Fill Jobs
A quick solution for employers facing labour shortages may be the Global Talent Stream (GTS) of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) under which Canadian work permits and visa applications are to be processed within two weeks.
Under the Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP), a joint federal-provincial program targeting skilled workers and international students, employers can hire foreign nationals and international graduates In-Demand Occupations without labour market testing.
That In-Demand Occupations list currently covers the healthcare sector; information and communications technology specialists, and; jobs in the aquaculture industry.
These occupations are exempt from provincial labour market testing processes, such as the Job Vacancy Assessment and AIP labour market testing requirements, such as advertising, and get priority processing by the province.
These are the in-demand occupations in Newfoundland and Labrador by sector:
Healthcare
- Physicians, including:
-
- family medicine;
- psychiatry;
- pathology;
- general internal medicine;
- radiology;
- obstetrics and gynecology;
- anesthesia;
- pediatric intensivists;
- neonatologists;
- pathology (hemopathology).
- nurse practitioner;
- licensed practical nurse;
- personal care attendant;
- clinical psychologist;
- medical physicist;
- radiation therapist, and;
- dosimetrist.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Engineers and Developers
- software developer;
- biomedical engineer;
- UI/UX developer;
- electrical engineer;
- AI developer;
- mechanical engineer;
- python developer;
- web developer;
- NET developer, and;
- infrastructure engineer.
Technical Specialists
- security specialist;
- cloud specialist;
- bioinformatician;
- computer network support;
- research associate;
- data analytics;
- offshore technician;
- ROV operator;
- ocean mapping specialist, and;
- technical writer.
Aquaculture
- captain (FM4 certification required);
- farming and feeding manager;
- facility technician;
- assistant manager;
- cage site technician;
- site manager (with water quality expertise), and;
- area manager.
The NLPNP has three categories for skilled workers and international graduates:
- Express Entry Skilled Worker;
- Skilled Worker, and;
- International Graduate.
Newfoundland And Labrador’s PNP Offers Seven Categories Of Programs For Permanent Residency
The provincial immigration program has seven categories overall to allow newcomers to seek permanent residency in Newfoundland and Labrador through periodic draws.
They are:
- Express Entry Skilled Worker Category;
- Skilled Worker Category;
- International Graduate Category;
- Priority Skills NL;
- International Graduate Entrepreneur Category;
- International Entrepreneur Category, and;
- Atlantic Immigration Pilot.
The Express Entry Skilled Worker category is for applicants who:
- have a profile in the federal Express Entry Pool;
- have a high-skilled job offer from an eligible Newfoundland & Labrador employer for at least two years with the possibility of extension, and;
- whose salary and benefits package meet provincial standards and prevailing wage rates.
The Skilled Worker Category is for those who have a job offer from an employer in the province – or are already working there on a valid Work Permit.
International students who have a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) with at least four months remaining on it and an offer for a job in the province can apply for permanent residence under the International Graduate category.
The Priority Skills NL category is aimed at candidates with work experience in occupations in demand in the province and who have a high educational level and solid language skills. Candidates must complete an Expression of Interest and those with the highest scores and greatest interest from employers are invited to apply.
The International Graduate Entrepreneur category is aimed at graduates of Memorial University or the College of the North Atlantic who have already started or bought a local business. Under this category, applicants must provide a business plan with verified supporting financial documents.
Experienced business owners or senior business managers who wish to permanently reside in Newfoundland and Labrador can apply for permanent residence under the International Entrepreneur Category.
AIP Offers Three Programs For Those Wanting To Live And Work In Atlantic Canada
And then, there’s the AIP, an employer-driven group of three programs:
- the Atlantic High-Skilled Program;
- the Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program, and;
- the Atlantic International Graduate Program.
The Atlantic High-Skilled Program is aimed at skilled workers with management, professional or technical/skilled job experience with job offers of at least one year.
Those with offers for permanent jobs requiring a high school education and/or job-specific training can apply under the Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program.
The Atlantic International Graduate Program is aimed at candidates with a degree, diploma or another credential from a publicly-funded institution in an Atlantic province and an offer for a job that will last at least one year but no work experience.
Each job offer made through the AIP requires provincial endorsement. The application for endorsement is handled by the employer after the candidate has their Settlement Plan.