Canada has been ranked as the seventh-best country in the world and its willingness to welcome people from everywhere else through immigration is one of its strengths.
“Canada is one of the best countries in the world,” proclaims Insider Monkey.
“As of 2024, it boasts a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $2.47 trillion. In 2021, the Human Development Index (HDI) of the country was 0.936. It spent 1.7 per cent of its GDP on research and development in 2021. In 2020, Canada had eight million foreign-born people.”
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines the HDI as a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living.
“The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age,” notes the UNDP.
“The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita.”
Topping Insider Monkey’s list of the top 10 best countries in the world was the United States.
“In 2021, the country had an HDI of 0.921,” notes Insider Monkey.
“The country boasts a GDP of $27.9 trillion, as of 2024. The number of foreign-born people in the country was 50.6 million in 2020. The country spent a total of 2.46 per cent of its GDP on research and development in 2021.”
The entire list of top 10 best countries is:
United States
Germany
United Kingdom
Japan
France
Australia
Canada
South Korea
Switzerland
Netherlands
With its openness to foreign nationals from throughout the world and extensive immigration programs, Canada is often ranked high in lists of the best countries in the world.
Last year, the US News & World Report survey revealed that Canada is considered to be the second best country in the world.
US News & World Report Ranks Canada As Second-Best Country
“Canada is a high-tech industrial society with a high standard of living,” noted the media outlet.
“Trade agreements in the 1980s and 1990s dramatically bolstered trade with the U.S., and now the two counties are each other’s largest trading partner. While the service sector is Canada’s biggest economic driver, the country is a significant exporter of energy, food and minerals. Canada ranks third in the world in proven oil reserves and is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer.
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“Canada is a member of the United Nations, through which it has participated in many peacekeeping missions. It is also a member of NATO and the Commonwealth of Nations.”
In 2021, the US News & World Report placed Canada at the top of that list.
“The North American country ranked first in both the quality of life and social purpose subrankings, meaning that it is seen as a stable and safe society in which individuals can develop and prosper, and is open, fair and equitable,” the media outlet reported.
Saskatchewan has put a pause on its Hard-to-Fill Skills Pilot program for a review that is set to conclude in Spring 2024. Occupations in the healthcare, agriculture, or value-added agriculture sectors are excluded from the closure.
Under the program, which was initiated in December 2021 “for intermediate and low-skilled workers in eligible, high-demand occupations,” workers with a job approval letter from an employer were eligible to apply for the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program after working for as little as six months with that employer.
The provincial government said that it would continue processing employer-approved forms submitted before January 11, and it would consider applications that were added until January 22 for existing employees in the province.
Saskatchewan said that the program category was paused as it had reached capacity on nominations, and it was a temporary category with fixed allocations.
“The banner stated that depending on the program demand, thresholds or caps may be implemented to manage the number of applications under this pilot,” Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Immigration and Career Training said in the emailed response, as per CBC News.
The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals Canada’s Start-Up Visa (SUV) entrepreneur immigration program grew by 58.1 per cent in January over the previous month as 490 immigrant entrepreneurs became new permanent residents.
Last year, the SUV set a new record as 1,460 new permanent residents arrived through it, easily beating out the previous record of 575 new permanent residents in 2022.
And that explosive growth in the SUV is still happening.
January’s level of immigration through the SUV this year was 880 per cent higher than the 50 permanent residents who arrived in Canada through the program during the comparable month in 2023.
The first month of the year saw so much SUV immigration to Canada that if that level of SUV immigration were projected out to the rest of the year it would result in 5,880 new permanent residents by the end of this year, more than four times as many as last year.
Launched in 2015, the SUV saw only 55 immigrant entrepreneurs come to Canada through that program in its initial year.
That number, though, doubled to 110 new permanent residents in 2016 and rose another 22.7 per cent the following year. By 2018, the program had more than quadrupled in popularity with 240 new permanent residents arriving under the SUV that year.
In 2019, the last full year before the arrival of COVID-19, the SUV welcomed 515 new permanent residents to Canada.
As the pandemic swept across Canada and public health and travel restrictions were imposed, though, immigration plummeted 45.9 per cent – and the number of people who arrived under the SUV fell in tandem with that overall drop in immigration to Canada.
In 2020, only 260 immigrant entrepreneurs became new permanent residents of Canada through the SUV.
With immigration rebounding strongly in 2021 to hit 406,020 new permanent residents, the SUV also saw increased activity with 385 new permanent residents coming to Canada through it that year, an improvement of 48.1 per cent over 2020.
It took until 2022 for the SUV to fully recover from the pandemic-fuelled downturn but it more than doubled in popularity last year compared to the previous year.
SUV Entrepreneurs See Ontario, British Columbia As Choice Destinations
Ontario and British Columbia remain the most popular destinations for SUV immigrants.
Ontario had received 275 new permanent residents through the program in the first month of this year and British Columbia welcomed 170 that month.
Alberta added five new permanent residents through the program in January and Manitoba added 35 immigrant entrepreneurs through the SUV during that month.
The only other province to see the arrival of immigrant entrepreneurs through the SUV in January was Nova Scotia which welcomed five.
None of the other provinces or territories added any new permanent residents through the SUV that month.
Due to these smaller numbers, the monthly and even yearly fluctuations in the number of new permanent residents under the SUV can sometimes seem exaggerated when examined in percentage terms.
Candidates applying under the SUV program can initially come to Canada on a work permit supported by their designated Canadian investor before their application for permanent residence is finalized.
The entire process of applying for permanent residence to Canada through the SUV is currently estimated by the IRCC to take 37 months.
A designated venture capital fund must confirm that it is investing at least $200,000 into the qualifying business. Candidates can also qualify with two or more commitments from designated venture capital funds totalling $200,000.
A designated angel investor group must invest at least $75,000 into the qualifying business. Candidates can also qualify with two or more investments from angel investor groups totalling $75,000.
Three Types Of Private-Sector Investors Are Considered Under SUV
A designated business incubator must accept the applicant into its business incubator program. It is up to the immigrant investor to develop a viable business plan that will meet the due diligence requirements of these government-approved designated entities.
That investing and the development of the business is usually done with the help of business consultants in Canada’s start-up ecosystem with oversight from experienced corporate business immigration lawyers who can ensure a start-up’s business concept meets all industry-required terms and conditions.
The basic government-imposed candidate eligibility requirements for the SUV are:
sufficient unencumbered, available and transferable settlement funds to meet settlement funding, and;
proficiency in English or French at the minimum Canadian Language Benchmark level 5. However, it frequently occurs that higher levels of English are needed to meet due diligence requirements imposed by designated entities.
Canada immigration made a strong start to the year with the number of new permanent residents up 28 per cent in January compared to the previous month.
The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals there were 47,660 new permanent residents to Canada in January this year, up from 37,240 in December.
Although that’s a strong showing for the first month of this year, the number of monthly arrivals was 6.4 per cent lower than the 50,945 new permanent residents during the comparable month last year.
Projecting out from January’s level of immigration to the rest of the year would result in 571,920 new permanent residents to the country in 2024.
That would be 21.3 per cent more than last year’s record-setting level 471,550 new permanent residents settling into the country.
The monthly level of immigrants to Canada in January, if it were to hold throughout the rest of the year, would also result in 17.9 per cent more new permanent residents than the target of 485,000 new permanent residents as set out in Ottawa’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2023 – 2025.
“Following the trajectory of the 2023-2025 plan, Canada aims to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, 500,000 in 2025 and plateau at 500,000 in 2026,” notes the IRCC on its website.
“This plan prioritizes economic growth, and supports family reunification, while responding to humanitarian crises and recognizing the rapid growth in immigration in recent years.”
The latest immigration levels plan would see a total of 1.485 million immigrants come to Canada over those three years.
Canada’s biggest province by population, Ontario, was the most popular destination for newcomers in January with 21,915 new permanent residents choosing to settle there that month.
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That made the central Canadian province the destination of choice for almost 46 per cent of all immigrants to Canada in January.
Those programs helped 13,265 new permanent residents arrive in Ontario that month.
Big Monthly Immigration Gains Were Made In Quebec, Atlantic Canada
Another 5,360 new permanent residents arrived in Ontario through family sponsorships and 2,885 came to that province through Canada’s refugee and protected persons programs in January.
The other provinces and territories attracted the following number of new permanent residents each during January:
Newfoundland and Labrador – 505
Prince Edward Island – 540
Nova Scotia – 1,785
New Brunswick – 1,695
Quebec – 4,160
Manitoba – 2,205
Saskatchewan – 1,970
Alberta – 5,440
British Columbia – 7,250
Yukon – 140
Northwest Territories – 50
Nunavut – 0
Across the country, the biggest gains in monthly immigration growth in January were in Quebec, which saw its level of monthly immigration jump by 60 per cent over the level in December last year, and three of the Atlantic Canadian provinces.
Prince Edward Island saw monthly immigration rise by 35 per cent in January while Nova Scotia saw a gain of 36.3 per cent and New Brunswick of 38.4 per cent.
Ontario’s monthly immigration level was up 44.4 per cent in January compared to December last year.
Manitoba stated that 20 of the 104 candidates invited had valid Express Entry IDs and job seeker validation codes.
For detailed requirements of the stream featured in this draw, please see below.
In a further draw on February 28, Manitoba invited 155 candidates through its pathway aimed at Ukrainians wishing to flee the war with Russia.
Candidates needed to meet the following requirements:
Be a citizen of Ukraine;
Have a minimum of CLB 4 in each language band;
Have established connection to Manitoba (close relative, family-like, community, previous employment or studies in Manitoba);
Have a valid language test;
Score at least 60 points according to MPNP assessment criteria; and
Satisfy all other requirements of the Skilled Worker Overseas Pathway, including sufficient settlement funds.
Latest Manitoba Draw
Stream
Sub-Stream
Letters of Advice to Apply
Score of Lowest Ranked Candidate
Skilled Workers Overseas
Strategic Recruitment Initiative
104
614
Manitoba Ukraine Pathway Draw
Stream
Sub-Stream
Letters of Advice to Apply
Score of Lowest Ranked Candidate
Skilled Worker Overseas Pathway
Ukraine
155
60
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How Do I Qualify For The Skilled Worker in Manitoba Stream?
The Skilled Worker in Manitoba Stream (SWM) is based on the specific needs of Manitoba employers. SWM selects foreign-trained workers with the required skills and nominates them for Canada permanent residence. The stream prioritizes candidates with a strong attachment to Manitoba, with two pathways to Manitoba immigration.
a) Manitoba Work Experience Pathway
For applicants currently working in Manitoba on temporary work permits, through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or as international graduates from any province. Candidates do not need to be working in In-Demand Occupations.
b) Employer Direct Recruitment Pathway
For applicants from overseas with job offers from approved Manitoba employers.
How Do I Qualify For The Skilled Worker Overseas Stream?
The Skilled Worker Overseas Stream (SWO) includes both a dedicated Canada Express Entry Pathway and a direct provincial pathway.
It is aimed at international skilled workers with skills and training in Manitoba’s In-Demand Occupations. Priority is given to applicants and spouses with close family connections, plus the language proficiency, training and experience to find jobs quickly.
a) Manitoba Express Entry Pathway
For international candidates eligible under another MPNP stream, who also meet Express Entry criteria and have an active Express Entry profile. Candidates need skills, training and experience in one of Manitoba’s In-Demand Occupations, and a strong family connection to the province.
b) Human Capital Pathway
For international skilled workers with skills, training and experience in one of Manitoba’s In-Demand Occupations. Candidates must demonstrate potential to find employment soon after they arrive in Manitoba.
What Are The Requirements For the International Education Stream?
The International Education Stream (IES) is dedicated to international graduates from Manitoba colleges and universities. Under IES, candidates are no longer required to work for six months in their field before applying for an MPNP nomination. It has three pathways:
1) Career Employment Pathway
Eligibility requirements include:
Completed a one-year or longer course from an eligible post-secondary Manitoba institution within three years of submission of application.
Have a full-time job offer in a Manitoba In-Demand occupation related to the completed degree
Resident of Manitoba
2) Graduate Internship Pathway
Masters and Doctoral degree holders who have completed Mitacs Accelerate or Elevate internships can apply for nomination through internships even without a job offer in the province.
3) Student Entrepreneur Pathway
Eligibility requirements include:
Completed a two-year or longer course from an eligible post-secondary Manitoba institution
Six months business operation experience in Manitoba
Resident of Manitoba since graduation.
No specific minimum personal net worth requirement
Are you a candidate with skills and qualifications in one of Canada’s 82 jobs for occupation-specific Express Entry draws? We want to help you move to Canada. Please submit your CV here.
The latest data from Statistics Canada reveals Canada’s employment rate nudged down a tenth of a percentage point in February as population growth continued to outstrip the increase in the number of people finding employment.
In its Labour Force Survey, February 2024, the statistical and demographic services agency indicates that employment rose by 41,000 that month but the Canadian population grew by three-tenths of a percentage point, driving down the employment rate to 61.5 per cent.
“The employment rate, the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed, fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.5 per cent in February,” reports Statistics Canada.
“This was the fifth consecutive monthly decline, the longest period of consecutive decreases since the six-month period ending in April 2009.
During the past year, the Canadian employment rate has fallen 0.9 percentage points from its peak of 62.4 per cent in February last year.
“This downward trend is associated with rapid population growth, which has outpaced employment growth in the past year,” notes Statistics Canada.
Across the country, employment increased in Alberta, up 17,000 or 0.7 per cent, and Nova Scotia, up 6,300 or 1.2 per cent, while it declined in Manitoba, down 5,300 or 0.7 per cent.
There was little change in the other provinces.
February’s employment growth was largely driven by a 71,000 boost in the number of full-time jobs. In the past year, the number of people holding down full-time jobs has grown by 260,000 while the number of people with part-time work has increased by 108,000.
“Employment increased by 38,000, up 1.5 per cent, among self-employed workers in February, the first monthly increase since August 2023,” reports Statistics Canada.
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When compiling statistics, Ottawa considers those aged 25 to 54 years old to be “core-aged”, meaning that age group is the most likely be gainfully employed and productive.
Among those who were core-aged in February, women did almost twice as well as the men at landing jobs.
“In February, employment rose among core-aged … women, up 45,000 or 0.7 per cent, and men, up 23,000 or 0.3 per cent, following little change for both groups the previous month,” reports Statistics Canada. “For core-aged women, this was the first increase in employment since September 2023.”
Women accounted for 47.3 per cent of the Canadian labour force in February with 9.7 million of them employed.
Canadian Women’s Employment Rate Still Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
“The employment rate of women aged 25 to 54 was 81.4 per cent in February, below the record high of 82 per cent reached in January 2023 and March 2023, but above the pre-pandemic average of 79.3 per cent recorded from 2017 to 2019,” reports Statistics Canada.
Across industry sectors, employment in accommodation and food services grew by 26,000, up 2.4 per cent, following a decline of 30,000 … in January. On a year-over-year basis, employment in this industry was little changed in February, and remained below its pre-pandemic level,” notes Statistics Canada.
“In February 2024, employment in accommodation and food services was down 7.9 per cent … compared with the 2017 to 2019 average.”
Employment in professional, scientific, and technical services rose by 18,000 in February, and employment also increased by 11,000 in “other services”, a category which includes personal and repair services.
Educational services shed 17,000 jobs, manufacturing cut back on 14,000, business, building, and other support services slashed 13,000 jobs and the number of people employed in agriculture fell by 6,000.
The Global Talent Stream (GTS), a part of the TFWP, can under normal processing situations lead to the granting of Canadian work permits and processing of visa applications within two weeks.
Employers can also bring in foreign nationals to fill available positions through the Express Entry system, which receives immigration applications online.
Are you a candidate with skills and qualifications in one of Canada’s 82 jobs for occupation-specific Express Entry draws? We want to help you move to Canada. Please submit your CV here.
Canada has launched a new toolkit for nurses that addresses the challenges of on-the-job stress, anxiety, depression and even abuse which is causing so many of these healthcare professionals to burn out.
The Nursing Retention Toolkit: Improving the Working Lives of Nurses in Canada program, which comes in the wake of growing efforts in Canada to recruit healthcare professionals through immigration programs, focuses on eight core themes with corresponding initiatives that employers of nurses can implement to help improve retention.
The Nursing Retention Toolkit’s eight core themes are:
flexible and balanced ways of working;
organizational mental health and wellness supports;
professional development and mentorship;
reduced administrative burden;
strong management and communication;
clinical governance and infrastructure;
inspired leadership, and;
safe staffing practices.
“Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, yet too many in Canada are struggling with their mental health, experiencing burnout, distress and feeling overworked, and unappreciated, causing them to leave their jobs,” said Dr. Leigh Chapman, Canada’s chief nursing officer.
“This toolkit provides nursing leadership and health system administrators with an opportunity to contribute first-hand to making changes in our health care system, including improving mental health and wellness supports for nurses so they can stay mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy, and so that they can keep caring for us.”
In last year’s federal budget, Ottawa announced plans to invest close to $200 billion to improve healthcare, including support to the healthcare workers retention, recruitment, and planning.
“We need to work together to make sure that nurses in Canada’s healthcare system are supported and get more health workers into the system, faster,” said Health Minister Mark Holland.
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Part of the federal government’s plan to boost the healthcare workforce is an improved foreign credential program for healthcare workers.
In January, Ottawa announced it would invest an extra $86 million into 15 projects across the country to boost the country’s capacity to recognize the foreign credentials of roughly 6,600 internationally-educated health professionals.
“Healthcare workers deliver the care that Canadians need. By bringing in new workers and retaining those who are already there, we can help relieve the labour challenges in our healthcare system,” said Holland.
“This federal funding supports our government’s work with provinces, territories, and stakeholders to have more healthcare workers enter Canada’s workforce and to streamline that process.”
The funded projects aim to:
reduce barriers to foreign credential recognition for internationally-educated healthcare professionals by improving the recognition processes, simplifying steps in credential recognition and offering increased access to practice in the field;
provide internationally-educated healthcare professionals with relevant Canadian work experience in their intended fields, while incorporating wrap-around supports such as childcare and transportation costs, as well as mentoring and coaching, and;
facilitate labour mobility between jurisdictions in Canada for healthcare professionals and internationally-educated healthcare professionals to reduce the systemic and administrative barriers for healthcare professionals who wish to work in other jurisdictions within Canada.
That financial shot in the arm was to provide funding to key occupations like nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, laboratory technicians and respiratory therapists. Through this investment, internationally trained midwives will be able to take their exams virtually, even before they arrive in Canada.
Jim Lai, president of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry, was thrilled.
“The Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry is thrilled to receive this support from the federal government to fund the development and testing of a new program to speed up the qualification and licensing of dentists trained elsewhere in the world so they can practice in Canada,” said Lai.
“With the government’s recent introduction of the new Canadian Dental Care Plan, and its policy of increasing immigration into Canada, there are plans to both help Canada’s poorest and most marginalized people gain access to dental care and to integrate internationally-trained dentists into Canada’s healthcare workforce.”
develop and strengthen Canada’s foreign credential assessment and recognition capacity;
contribute to improving labour market integration outcomes of skilled newcomers, and;
support interprovincial labour mobility.
“Honouring the professional credentials of newcomers is a compassionate and effective component of expanding Canada’s workforce,” said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault.
Occupation-Targeted Express Entry Draws Will Boost Healthcare Workforce
“The Foreign Credential Recognition Program speeds up the accreditation for 6,600 people and is not only the right thing to do but one of the best ways we can fill labour gaps, strengthen our healthcare system and grow our economy.”
The latest funding for foreign credential recognition came in the wake of other investments by Ottawa to support newcomers so they can participate in Canadian society, including the Settlement Program managed by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Canada’s Express Entry system can now target 82 jobs in healthcare, technology, trades, transport and agriculture and so there is now a new pathway to immigration for nurses, orderlies and other healthcare workers.
The majority of Canada’s provinces have also been issuing occupation-specific invitations for several years but the labour shortages in the healthcare system persist.
“Retention and burnout are some of the most pressing issues facing our industry today and we were honoured to have been involved in the development of the toolkit,” said Terri Irwin, chief nursing executive at Trillium Health Partners.
“To invest in nurses, ensuring that they are supported physically and emotionally in reaching their full potential, is to invest in the well-being of our communities for generations to come.”
Nova Scotia’s international student visa allowance has been reduced by 35 per cent, as announced during the Province House’s debate on the provincial budget.
Nova Scotia’s advanced education minister Brian Wong told the sub-committee on supply that the province has received the total count on international student applications it can allow for the 2024-25 school year, which is 12,900, and is to be shared by universities, NSCC, private career colleges, and language schools.
This is a drop of 7,000 applications from last year, and is in alignment with Ottawa’s target of reducing international student applications by 35% across Canada, according to The Hamilton Spectator.
On January 22, IRCC Minister Marc Miller announced an intake cap on international study permit applications to stabilize growth for a temporary period of two years. For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits.
IRCC also announced that individual provincial and territorial caps have been determined, weighted by population, which will result in much more significant decreases in provinces where the international student population has seen the most unsustainable growth.
The announcement by Wong is one of the first public revelations regarding the federal government’s provincial allocations.
All designated learning institutions in Nova Scotia will be sharing the 12,900 quota, but Wong did not detail how this number will be divided – whether every school gets an equal share, for example, or if it is weighted by another factor such as the school’s enrolment numbers or international student population.
While DLIs just learned about the 12,900 figure, the province has till the end of this month to determine the allocation.
NS universities welcomed 14,500 international students in 2023-24, while the country as a whole was home to more than 1 million international students.
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Canada has introduced many measures recently to ensure the International Student Program works for in-coming students.
This includes:
Updating the cost-of-living requirement, which was introduced on January 1 for study permit holders to better reflect the “true” cost of living in Canada and help prevent vulnerability and exploitation;
Requiring post-secondary DLIs since December 1 to confirm every letter of acceptance submitted by an applicant outside Canada directly with IRCC;
Intending to implement targeted pilots aimed at helping underrepresented cohorts of international students pursue their studies in Canada in 2024.
The ruling Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) lack of decisive action to reduce the long processing times for family sponsorships has been criticized by Quebec’s immigration critic.
“Imagine having to wait three years to be reunited with your spouse who is currently outside the country,” said the Liberals’ immigration critic, André Morin.
“It’s inhumane. These interminable delays due to the ideological stubbornness of the CAQ are unacceptable in a welcoming society like Quebec.
“The CAQ government must shift into solution mode and come to an agreement with Ottawa because we are dealing with human beings here.”
The Member of the National Assembly’s comments come in the wake of a lawsuit launched by an immigration lawyer against the government in which he challenges the provincial government’s entire handling of the immigration portfolio going back to 2018.
That immigration lawyer argues the Canada-Quebec Accord, a deal between the federal and provincial government which determines how immigration issues are to be handled in Quebec, does not allow the francophone province the right to put a cap on the family sponsorships.
Although there are 38,400 Quebeckers waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, the province is currently only accepting a maximum of 10,600 per year.
That means that at the current rate of processing for family sponsorships in Canada, it will take three years for those applications to be processed. In the rest of the country, these cases are resolved in one year.
The Liberals in Quebec are demanding the province process all of these family sponsorship applications within the next two years.
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“Why does a spousal sponsorship application take three times longer in Quebec than in the rest of the country?” asks Morin.
“Through its chaotic and ideological management of immigration, the CAQ has created two classes of citizens in Canada. We are proposing that the minister put in place a 24-month plan to clear the waiting list and finally allow these 38,400 Quebecers to be reunited with their families.”
Quebec Premier François Legault has repeatedly stated he will hold the line on immigration and made it clear his government is deeply-committed to ensuring the survival of the French language.
Quebec Premier Is Holding Line On Immigration
The premier has gone so far as to put forth proposals to limit all economic immigration to the province to French-speaking immigrants by 2026.
“As premier of Quebec, my first responsibility is to defend our language and our identity,” said Legault. “During the past few years, the French language has been in decline in Quebec. Since 2018, our government has acted to protect our language, more so than any previous government since the adoption of Bill 101 under the Levesque government.
“But, if we want to turn the tide, we must do more. By 2026, our goal is to have almost entirely francophone economic immigration. We have the duty, as Québécois, to speak French, to daily pass on our culture and to be proud of it.”
Are you a candidate with skills and qualifications in one of Canada’s 82 jobs for occupation-specific Express Entry draws? We want to help you move to Canada. Please submit your CV here.
Canada job vacancies marked the third consecutive month of little change after holding steady at 637,400 figures for December 2023 that were released recently show.
The number of vacancies was 209,200 (-24.7%) less than December 2022, and down by 365,900 (-36.5%) from the record high of 1,003,200 in May 2022.
Total labour demand fell by 0.4% in December compared with the month prior, while the job vacancy rate (which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand) was mostly the same at 3.6% in December 2023.
In December, there were 2.0 unemployed persons for every job vacancy, which increased from the ratio of 1.9 recorded in each of the last three months.
The retail trade sector (-9,400; -13.8%) was the only one to record a decline in job vacancies in December, to reach 58,800 vacancies. This offset the increase of 7,400 in November.
On a year-on-year basis, job vacancies were down by 39,900 (-40.4%) in retail trade in December 2023, the largest decline across all sectors.
The job vacancy rate in retail trade was 2.8% in December, down 0.5 percentage points from November (3.3%) and down 1.9 percentage points from December 2022 (4.7%).
Two sectors – those of educational services (+3,800; +19.5%) and utilities (+1,000; +33.4%) – saw a rise, while there was little change in the rest of the 15 sectors.
For example, the sectors of healthcare and social assistance saw little job vacancy change in December 2023 (125,900) for the fourth month in a row.
The job vacancy rate in healthcare and social assistance was 5.1% in December, little changed from the month before, but down 1.0 percentage points from the previous year.
On a provincial basis, Ontario and Quebec saw a decrease in job vacancies. The former experienced a fall by 13,400 (-5.6%) to 224,200 in December, which partially offset the increase observed in the month before (+21,500; +10.0%). The latter, on the other hand, saw a -10,700 fall to 138,100 in December.
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Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island saw increases of 2,800 and 900 respectively, while the numbers were relatively stable in the other provinces.
On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate fell in nine provinces in December, including the two provinces with the highest rates in December 2022, namely British Columbia (where the vacancy rate fell from 5.2% in December 2022 to 4.2% in December 2023) and Quebec (where it fell from 5.2% to 3.5% over the same period).
British Columbia and Saskatchewan had the highest job vacancy rate in December, each at 4.2%.
