Rising inflation is a growing worry for Canadians and businesses even as the rate is trending downwards, with labour shortages easing off across the country as 22 per cent fewer managers report they are having trouble finding workers.
RBC Economics’ latest guidance report, Canadian Inflation Likely Ticked Up In December But Easing Trend To Continue, reveals that 41 per cent of Canadian firms were reporting labour shortages during the first quarter of 2021, the peak of the labour market challenges.
At that time, the intensity of the labour shortages was rated at 74.
Since then, that pressure on Canadian firms has eased considerably, with only 32 per cent of them reporting labour shortages by the third quarter of last year and the intensity of those labour shortages ranked at -46.
The big unknown for Canadians and Canadian businesses going forward is what will happen with inflation.
RBC Economics’ assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen and economist Carrie Freestone are expecting the Consumer Price Index report to tick up slightly, to 3.4 per cent growth year-over-year, for December from 3.1 per cent in November – but only because a big drop in gas prices will by then have worked itself out of the year-over-year calculations.
“Food price growth likely slowed again and broader measures of inflation pressures have eased in recent months with the bulk of remaining upward price growth coming from surging mortgage interest costs due to higher interest rates,” note Janzen and Freestone.
“Still, the breadth and magnitude of inflation have continued to edge lower on balance. Growth in mortgage interest costs is accounting for roughly a third of total price growth excluding food and energy products.”
Canadian retail sales in November were flat after a 0.7 per cent uptick in October but Statistics Canada estimates manufacturing sales for that month were up 1.2 per cent on higher chemical, transportation equipment, and primary metal sales.
As Canadian builders gear up to create more housing, the development industry is seeing growth in Canada.
Housing Starts Edging Up But Below Average Level Of Permit Assurance
“Housing starts are expected to come in slightly stronger in December at 250,000 relative to November’s 213,000, but still below the three-month rolling average level of permit issuance at 268,000,” note the RBC economists.
Canadian employers hoping to attract workers through economic immigration can recruit them through the TFWP and the International Mobility Program (IMP).
Watch Video
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.
To qualify under this stream, applicants must have:
A permanent and full-time job offer under NOC TEER category 1, 2 or 3 that meets the median wage levels for Ontario, and in a position that is necessary to the business;
For those already working in the position, the proposed wage must be equal or greater than the current wage being paid
Two cumulative years of relevant work experience in the previous five years before the date of application;
Relevant mandatory licensing in Ontario, if the position so requires;
Live abroad, or be working, studying or visiting Canada on a valid permit;
A January 16 draw targeted healthcare workers with an Alberta job offer saw 22 candidates invited. It had a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 312.
On January 2, a draw with the same parameters saw 42 invitations issued and a lowest score of 309.
A further draw on January 11 targeted agriculture occupations with an Alberta job offer. It saw 44 invitations issued with a minimum score of 312.
Alberta reached its allocation of 9,750 provincial nominations for 2023. It is yet to received its allocation for 2024.
An unnamed source has reportedly told CBC News that British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia could be hit with limits on the number of international students they can welcome at their colleges and universities.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Star has reportedly seen an internal federal government memo outlining plans to set a fixed number of international students for each province.
The reported leak of information about caps on study visas in certain provinces where the housing stock may be deemed insufficient for the number of temporary residents comes after Immigration Minister Marc Miller floated the idea of caps on international students.
“Housing remains a pressing concern, especially in the post-COVID landscape, with the rise in interest rates, supply constraints, and affordability issues,” said Miller.
The immigration minister has expressed his commitment to closely examine the influx of international students and temporary residents entering Canada due to worries that record immigration is contributing to the country’s housing crisis.
Under the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada is now planning to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, another 500,000 in 2025 and then hold the line on immigration in 2026 with another 500,000 newcomers.
That’s a total of 1.485 million immigrants to Canada over those three years.
Even senior economists with the country’s biggest banks are now saying that level of immigration to Canada has been poorly managed.
“Frankly I’m surprised we screwed it up because we sit in such a privileged position in Canada,” Beata Caranci, chief economist at Toronto Dominion Bank, has reportedly said.
“We designed our own policy, we put it in place, we implemented it, and we still screwed it up.”
Stéfane Marion, chief economist at National Bank of Canada, seems to agree, describing Canada’s immigration policies as a “population trap”.
Ottawa has responded to the housing crisis and the rising numbers of international students – some of whom are now warning their compatriots back home not to come to Canada – by roughly doubling the amount of money international students will need to study in Canada.
That move, however, was presented by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) not as an attempt to limit the number of international students but only to ensure that those who do come to Canada have the needed financial resources given the rising cost of living.
Watch Video
Foreign nationals who apply for a study visa now need to demonstrate they have access to $20,635, up from $10,000.
“International students provide significant cultural, social and economic benefits to their communities, but they have also faced challenges navigating life in Canada,” said Miller.
“We are revising the cost-of-living threshold so that international students understand the true cost of living here. This measure is key to their success in Canada. We are also exploring options to ensure that students find adequate housing.”
The CBC News report claims Canada was on track as 2023 came to an end to have welcomed 900,000 international students.
Studying In Canada Allows Foreign Nationals To Gain Canadian Work Experience
are full-time students at a post-secondary public school (college or university, or CEGEP in Quebec), or at a private college-level school in Quebec that operates under the same rules as public schools and is at least 50 per cent funded by government grants, or at a Canadian private school that can legally award degrees under provincial law, and;
have a Social Insurance Number.
International students are also usually able to work off-campus without a work permit while completing their studies – when the current liftin of the 20-hour rule is not in effect – if:
are full-time students in a designated learning institution (a post-secondary program, or in Quebec at a vocational program at the secondary level as well);
their study program is academic, vocational or professional, it lasts at least six months and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate;
they are only working up to a maximum of 20 hours per week during regular academic sessions, and full time during scheduled breaks (for example, winter and summer holidays or spring break).
Certain study programs include work requirements such as co-op or internships. In such cases, a work permit is required in order for the foreign student to be able to complete the work.
With the work experience and education gained while at Canadian colleges and universities, many international students then apply for permanent residence in Canada under such immigration programs as the Express Entry’s Canada Experience Class Program (CEC).
National Bank Financial Inc. report sats Canada is caught in a “population trap” that only exists in up-and-coming markets, wherein the booming population of a country starts clashing with the limits of the infrastructural capability needed to absorb that population.
In such a scenario, the standard of living plateaus because the population is “growing so fast that all available savings are needed to maintain the existing capital-labour ratio,” as per NBF.
The Special Report highlighted that the country’s population growth in 2023 was 3.2%, which is five-fold that of the OECD average. Moreover, all ten Canadian provinces grew at a rate that was at least twice as fast as the OECD, ranging from 1.3% in Newfoundland to 4.3% in Alberta.
“Our country’s current population growth appears extreme relative to the absorptive capacity of the economy and the fact that our workforce is not aging faster than the OECD average.”
“Nowhere is this absorption challenge more evident than in housing, where the supply deficit reached a new record of only one housing starts for every 4.2 people entering the working-age population (compared to the historical average of 1.8).”
Although Ottawa has introduced recently introduced programs to increase housing supply, Canada would be required to double its housing construction capacity to roughly 700,000 starts per year to meet current demand and reduce shelter cost inflation – an unattainable goal.
Either way, Canadian policymakers need to recognize, as per the report, that population growth is an impediment to the country’s economic well-being. Real GDP per capita being at a standstill for six years is a case in point, and is not simply a result of a lack of housing.
The collapse of Canada’s capital stock per capita close to 1.5% in 2023 means that the Canadian population is growing so rapidly that Ottawa does not have enough savings to stabilize its capital-labor ration and achieve an increase in GDP per capita.
This marks Canada’s first population trap in modern history.
“More worrisome is the fact that the decline is not simply due to a lack of housing infrastructure. In fact, the private non-residential capital stock to population ratio has been declining for seven years and is currently no higher than it was in 2012, while it is at a record high in the U.S.,” NBF said.
The report suggests that Canadian policymakers should set population goals against the constraint of the country’s capital stock, which goes beyond the housing supply, if housing supply is to be improved. This requires that annual population growth not exceed 300,000 to 500,000 if the population trap is to be escaped.
The suggestion in question may seem rendered redundant when considering the government’s annual immigration levels plan, which is set at 485,000 new PRs in 2024, 500,000 in 2025, and 500,000 again in 2026.
The federal government is, however, working to stabilize the number of immigrants to Canada every year in response to reports of the so-called population trap.
Watch Video
The Canadian Press reported recently that internal documents from 2022 show Immigration Department employees warning their deputy minister that a large increase in immigration could have dire effects on housing and services access.
These warnings were not heeded to at the time, and the immigration numbers were towered to 500,000 – nearly double the amount in 2015.
In a joint statement from Friday, the Liberal ministers defended this decision by pointing towards the need for post-pandemic recovery in Canada.
“Had we not increased immigration post-pandemic, the economy would have shrunk. Businesses facing an acute labour shortage would have closed. The social services Canadians needed, including in health care, would be further delayed or even more difficult to access,” the statement said.
There are hundreds of jobs for pharmacy assistants going begging for a want of qualified workers to fill them in Canada, providing opportunities for foreign nationals to gain their permanent residence here through occupation-targeted Express Entry system draws.
With Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changing Canada’s Express Entry system to allow it to target 82 jobs in healthcare, technology, trades, transport and agriculture this summer – including pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants – it opened the door to a new pathway to immigration for them.
Job Bank, the federal government’s job-hunting and career-planning website, listed 267 pharmacy aide jobs in Canada in early November. In Alberta, there were 67 jobs for these workers and another 61 in Quebec.
Canada’s biggest province, Ontario, had 54 job openings for pharmacy aides, British Columbia had 39 and Saskatchewan another 30.
The job prospects of pharmacy aides, also called pharmacy assistants or pharmacy technical assistants and categorized under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system with the code 33103, are ranked as very good, Job Bank’s highest rating, for the Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba over the coming three years.
The job prospects of these workers are ranked as good in Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and the Yukon and moderate in Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and British Columbia during the same time frame.
“The aging population and the rising need for long-term care is projected to put further pressure on the demand for health services assistants,” notes the Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) website.
“The growing number of seniors will continue to increase the need for hospital, nursing home, and long-term care centre services where these workers provide front-line services.”
In May this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made all of these workers eligible for immigration to Canada Express Entry occupation-targeted draws.
Video
The flagship Express Entry selection system had previously only conducted draws based on immigration programs, not by targeting specific occupations.
“Everywhere I go, I’ve heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labour shortages,” said then-Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
“These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure that they have the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed. We can also grow our economy and help businesses with labour shortages while also increasing the number of French-proficient candidates to help ensure the vitality of French-speaking communities.”
In Canada, the median hourly wage for pharmacy aides is $21 but that varies from a low of $15 right up to $28, reveals Job Bank.
Pharmacy Aides Can Earn Up To $54,600 Annually In Canada
Based on a 37.5-hour work week, that means a pharmacy aide can expect to earn up to $54,600 annually in Canada.
Candidates hoping to immigrate through Express Entry occupation-targeted draws need at least six months of continuous work experience in Canada or abroad within the past three years in one of these occupations to be eligible, experience that can have been gained while working in Canada as temporary foreign workers with a work permits or as an international student with a student visa.
Canada first signalled its intention to start occupation-specific draws through Express Entry in June last year, when changes were made to the Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act to allow invitations based on occupations and other attributes, such as language ability.
The majority of Canada’s provinces have been issuing occupation-specific invitations for several years.
Under the changes to the act, the immigration minister is required to consult provinces and territories, members of industry, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration researchers and practitioners, before announcing new categories.
IRCC must also report to parliament each year on the categories that were chosen and the reason for the choices.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the number of occupations facing shortages doubled between 2019 and 2021. From 2018 to 2022, federal high skilled admissions accounted for between 34 and 40 per cent of overall French-speaking admissions outside Quebec, which manages its own immigration intake.
A report prepared for the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada says newly-arrived immigrants’ incomes grew faster than those of other Canadians.
“During the period 2014 to 2018, their relative income went from 55 per cent to 78 per cent of that of all Canadian tax filers,” note Philip Bagnoli, Chris Matier and Xiaoyi Yan in Income Dynamics Of New Immigrants To Canada.
Although the boost in the incomes of immigrants was broad-based, those who came to Canada from Asian countries, including India, the Philippines and China, seemed to have fared best and so did those with higher education coming to take higher-paying jobs.
“Those in professional occupations (e.g., engineers, applied scientists, teachers, accountants, physicians, etc.) were responsible for much of the narrowed gap, in terms of their incomes one year after landing,” note the authors of the report.
Strong family networks in Canada prior to immigration and the ability to work as temporary foreign workers or international students before gaining permanent residency seemed to have helped immigrants to Canada boost their incomes during those years.
“The Canadian experience of immigrants just before landing was an important correlate. An increasing number of immigrants are working in Canada on a temporary basis, and then gain permanent status,” the report states.
“Their median total Canadian income in the year before landing has been increasing since 2007: it went from about 49 per cent of all residents in 2006, to about 89 per cent in 2013.”
Newcomers who settled in Ontario and British Columbia, both of which have large immigrant communities, seemed to do best.
Family Ties, Community Networks Important To Immigrants’ Success In Canada
“A related finding is that the increase in income occurred while the number of immigrants with family ties in Canada was increasing, suggesting that pre-existing social networks are important for economic outcomes,” notes the report.
The latest Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data reveals Canada had welcomed 434,360 new permanent residents for the year as of the end of November.
Based on that trend in the first 11 months of that year, Canada was then poised to have welcomed 473,847 new permanent residents by the end of 2023, or 8.3 per cent more than the 437,590 it welcomed in 2022.
That projected level of immigration would be 1.9 per cent higher than Canada’s target of 465,000 new permanent residents for 2023.
Under the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada is now planning to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, another 500,000 in 2025 and then hold the line on immigration in 2026 with another 500,000 newcomers.
Watch Video:
That’s a total of 1.485 million immigrants to Canada over those three years.
Foreign workers hoping to come to Canada to take up jobs here can also do so through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP).
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
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.
Strong demand from both the public and private sector over the coming eight years will open up many opportunities for foreign nationals qualified to work in Canada as data scientists to gain their permanent residence here through occupation-targeted Express Entry system draws.
Job Bank, the federal government’s job-hunting and career-planning website, is forecasting that the current labour shortage of these professionals will persist through to 2031.
“Computer services benefit from the constant development of innovative computer and communications products that are designed and serviced by the industry,” notes the Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) website.
“Cloud-based platforms, the Internet of Things, big data and open-source software continue to gain in popularity, while the implementation of 5G networks and further developments in advanced manufacturing, autonomous transport, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, language processing and biometric security represent a multitude of growth opportunities.
“Consumers and businesses own multiple electronic devices and are increasingly asking for compatibility, transferability, and access to their content from any of those devices.”
With Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changing Canada’s Express Entry system to allow it to target 82 jobs in healthcare, technology, trades, transport and agriculture this summer – including data scientists – it opened the door to a new pathway to immigration for them.
computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
database analysts and data administrators
computer and information systems managers
information systems specialists
mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries
software engineers and designers
In May this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made all of these workers eligible for immigration to Canada Express Entry occupation-targeted draws.
The flagship Express Entry selection system had previously only conducted draws based on immigration programs, not by targeting specific occupations.
“Everywhere I go, I’ve heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labour shortages,” said then-Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
Occupation-Targeted Express Entry Draws Aim To Reduce Labour Shortages
“These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure that they have the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed. We can also grow our economy and help businesses with labour shortages while also increasing the number of French-proficient candidates to help ensure the vitality of French-speaking communities.”
Job Bank ranks the job prospects of data scientists over the next three years as very good, its highest rating, in Quebec and good throughout the rest of the country.
In early November, the Indeed.ca job-hunting website listed 617 jobs for data scientists across the country.
Video
In Canada, the median hourly wage for these workers is $39 but that varies from a low of $23.08 right up to $56.41, reveals Job Bank.
Based on a 37.5-hour work week, that means a data scientist can expect to earn up to $109,999 annually in Canada.
Candidates hoping to immigrate through Express Entry occupation-targeted draws need at least six months of continuous work experience in Canada or abroad within the past three years in one of these occupations to be eligible, experience that can have been gained while working in Canada as temporary foreign workers with a work permits or as an international student with a student visa.
Canada first signalled its intention to start occupation-specific draws through Express Entry in June last year, when changes were made to the Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act to allow invitations based on occupations and other attributes, such as language ability.
The majority of Canada’s provinces have been issuing occupation-specific invitations for several years.
Under the changes to the act, the immigration minister is required to consult provinces and territories, members of industry, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration researchers and practitioners, before announcing new categories.
IRCC must also report to parliament each year on the categories that were chosen and the reason for the choices.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the number of occupations facing shortages doubled between 2019 and 2021. From 2018 to 2022, federal high skilled admissions accounted for between 34 and 40 per cent of overall French-speaking admissions outside Quebec, which manages its own immigration intake.
The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveal that after a strong October, the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) welcomed roughly a third fewer arrivals in November, dipping 32 per cent that month.
In November, the PGP welcomed only 1,720 new permanent residents to Canada, down from 2,530 in October, as overall monthly immigration to the country also softened by 12.4 per cent.
After rebounding by 4.3 per cent to hit 33,570 new permanent residents in October, Canada’s monthly immigration fell to 29,430 new permanent residents in November.
Despite that slump in PGP immigration in November, though, the PGP still closed the first 11 months of the year having welcomed 26,600 new permanent residents.
That put the PGP on track, if the trend set in the first 11 months of the year were to continue throughout the rest of 2023, to welcome 29,018 new permanent residents by the end of the year, or 6.4 per cent more than the 27,270 who arrived under that immigration program the previous year.
Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, saw the greatest number of arrivals under the PGP in the first 11 months of this year with 12,660 parents and grandparents settling there.
The other provinces and territories attracted the following number of new permanent residents under the PGP during that period:
Newfoundland and Labrador – 55
Prince Edward Island – 10
Nova Scotia – 185
New Brunswick – 55
Quebec – 2,315
Manitoba – 1,095
Saskatchewan – 730
Alberta – 5,145
British Columbia – 4,370
Yukon – 25
Northwest Territories – 15
Nunavut – 0
With growing total immigration to Canada, it seems likely PGP immigration will also rise in the coming years.
Under its 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan, Ottawa had set its immigration target for 2023 at 465,000 new permanent residents.
Applicants Must Pay A $1,050 Fee To Sponsor Parents And Grandparents
Under the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada is also planning to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, 500,000 in 2025 and then hold the line on immigration in 2026 with another 500,000 newcomers.
That’s a total of 1.485 million immigrants to Canada over those three years.
Under the PGP, applicants pay $1,050 to sponsor a parent or grandparent and the process takes up to 23 months, with the people being sponsored required to provide biometrics after they apply. That processing time includes the time to provide those biometrics.
Watch Video
Once a Canadian citizen or permanent resident has submitted an interest in sponsoring these relatives, he or she is sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and must then submit two applications to the PGP:
the sponsorship application, and;
the permanent residence application.
If those applications get the green light, the sponsor signs an agreement called an undertaking which starts on the day the sponsoree becomes a permanent resident of Canada.
Among the several requirements which need to be met to determine eligibility to sponsor a parent or grandparent, are:
a receipt of an Invitation to Apply;
being at least 18 years old;
Canadian residency;
being a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act;
sufficient funds to support the parent or grandparent;
proof of income, although a spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to combine their income with that of the sponsor, and;
meeting all other requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
Sponsors Ink Deal With Government To Financially Support Parents And Grandparents
All sponsors living outside of the province of Quebec, which has its own immigration system, must promise to financially support the sponsorees for a period of time.
This undertaking commits the sponsor to:
providing financial support for sponsored family members for 20 years, starting when they become permanent residents;
repaying any provincial social assistance (money from the government) sponsored family members get during that time, and;
agreeing to certain responsibilities during the undertaking period in a sponsorship agreement.
That sponsorship agreement means that the sponsor will provide the basic needs of the sponsoree, including:
food;
clothing;
utilities;
personal requirements;
shelter;
fuel;
household supplies, and;
healthcare not covered by public health insurance, such as eye and dental care.
Sponsors Remain Financial Responsible For Relatives Even In Tough Times
The sponsorship agreement is not one to be entered into lightly as it is obliges the sponsor to meet those requirements even in the case of:
separation or divorce;
family rifts;
unemployment;
change in finances, and even;
death of the main applicant.
Sponsors who live in Quebec must meet that province’s immigration sponsorship requirements after the IRCC approves of the sponsor. The length of the undertaking is 10 years for Quebec.
Due to the need for sponsors to accept responsibility for their parents and grandparents through sponsorship agreements under the PGP, past criminality and serious financial troubles can render a Canadian citizen or permanent resident ineligible for this program.
Applicants may not be eligible to sponsor their parents or grandparents if the sponsors:
are in a jail, prison or penitentiary;
didn’t pay back an immigration loan or performance bond;
failed to make court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support;
didn’t give the financial support specified under a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past;
declared bankruptcy and are not discharged;
receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability;
were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada, or;
can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because they received a removal order.
The applicant cannot sponsor his or her spouse’s parents or grandparents, aka their in-laws, but can be a co-signer on that spouse’s application to bring to Canada his or her parents and grandparents.
The PGP program also does not allow a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor someone who is otherwise inadmissible to come to Canada.
The PGP is restricted to the applicant’s own parents and grandparents, related by blood or adoption.
IRCC Urges Applicants To Keep Their Information Current To Avoid Delays
“In case of divorce, you’ll need to submit separate applications if you sponsor divorced parents and grandparents,” notes the IRCC on its website.
“If your divorced parents or grandparents have a current spouse, common-law partner or a conjugal partner, these people become dependants on the application and can immigrate to Canada with your parents and grandparents, if approved.”
A PGP application can include the sponsor’s own brothers and sisters, or half-brothers and sisters, or step-brothers and step-sisters – but only if they qualify as dependent children of the sponsor’s parents.
Delays in processing can quickly occur when the IRCC is faced with information which is no longer accurate and so Canadian immigration officials encourage applicants to keep their contact information and application details up to date.
Important information which must be updated includes:
changes in relationship status;
birth or adoption of a child;
death of an applicant or dependant;
contact information such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses.
The applicant is responsible for going into the application and updating it with this information him or herself.
“Don’t mail us changes to your contact or application information,” notes the IRCC. “If you do, we won’t acknowledge your request and we won’t update your application.”
Canadian immigration officials notify applicants under the PGP as soon as they begin to process the application, sending them both an application number and an acknowledgement of receipt of the application.
The IRCC then assesses both the applicant’s eligibility as a sponsor and the person being sponsored for permanent residence.
“If we refuse you as a sponsor, you can choose to have us keep processing the application for permanent residence for your family members,” notes the IRCC.
Choosing to have the IRCC continue processing the application at that point means the sponsor forgoes all fees which have been paid.
By choosing to withdraw the application in the eventuality of being deemed ineligible to sponsor, the applicant can get all of his or her fees back, minus the $75 sponsorship fee.
Once Canadian immigration officials have approved a sponsor under the PGP, they then turn their attention to the people being sponsored to determine their eligibility under the program.
The IRCC will typically request documents from those being sponsored, including:
medical exam results;
police certificates, and;
biometrics.
Letters requesting that biometric information are sent to the parents or grandparents and their dependent children as named in the application and they then have 30 days to provide the biometric information at the closest collection point.
Canada has been rated the safest place to travel in 2024, after moving up from the sixth spot in 2023.
It also ranked first in terms of safety in transportation, lack of violent crime, and health measures, and as the safest place for women and LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people.
The ranking was featured in Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection’s Safest Destinations report, which has, for nine years, helped travelers narrow down where to go when safety is a priority.
The list for 2024 was compiled via a survey of 1,702 travelers evaluated alongside data from the Global Peace Index and the State Department’s travel safety ratings, and the average GeoSure Global scores of each country’s major cities.
“A safe place was originally a place that’s largely free from terrorist activity. Then it became a place that was safe from disease outbreaks. Now it’s a place where all types of people can move about freely without discrimination or harassment,” the company said in its 2024 rankings.
In terms of Canada’s top ranking, Berkshire Hathaway said that “cold weather and low population density make for safe travels.” However, the company did say that visitors should take precautions with natural disasters when coming to Canada, such as wildfires.
“Canada’s plethora of forests were seemingly all burning, which has reduced air quality in most major Canadian cities. This made travel to Canada difficult for people with respiratory conditions.”
The report also highlighted the possibility of avalanches and rockslides.
However, Canada’s reviews were overwhelmingly positive overall. Gap Year Travel Store, for example, wrote of it that ““As traveling destinations go it really doesn’t get much safer than Canada … Violent crime is comparatively low and there is a low incidence of gun-related crime.”
Switzerland made second place for 2024, moving up from the ninth spot in 2023. Its low crime rate and safety were behind this score hike. Countries to follow it were Norway in third place, Ireland in fourth, and the Netherlands in fifth place.
Watch Video
The Netherlands ended up falling from the top place, which it had held last year.
