Canada Wants To Welcome Over 1 Million New Permanent Residents & These Skills Are In Demand
There will be a focus on qualifications in certain sectors.
Canadian flag with skyscrapers in the background.
The feds have some pretty big plans for immigration in Canada, with the number of newcomers in the country set to go up in the coming years… by a lot.
In November 2022, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser announced Canada's 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan.
Here's everything you need to know about the plan, and what skills are the most in-demand among newcomers.
How many permanent residents is Canada welcoming?
Canada plans to welcome 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, a pretty big jump from the 431,000 target it had last year.
But that's not all.
In 2024, the plan is to bring in 485,000 permanent residents and 500,000 in 2025.
That's well over 1 million over the next three years.
The ambitious plans have been announced to solve the labour shortages that have been affecting the country.
"Our plan has a focus on economic growth and by the third year of this plan, 60% of new immigrants will be admitted under economic immigration categories," Fraser said.
What skills are in demand?
There will be a focus on attracting skills required in key sectors, namely healthcare, housing, manufacturing, building trades and STEM (Science, Technology and Math).
This means that they will be using new features in the Express Entry system to welcome newcomers with the required skills and qualifications in the sectors that are facing labour shortages.
"We can't afford to keep bringing doctors here who aren't able to work as doctors. We can't afford to bring skilled tradespeople here who aren’t working as skilled tradespeople," Fraser said in a press conference.
"We're going to work with provinces that are taking steps to recognize foreign credentials of skilled newcomers to make sure that they can work in hospitals and help build homes across the country," he added.
Regional immigration
The plan also focuses on working to "spread the benefits of immigration to communities across the country."
That is, the plan will bring "an increased focus on attracting newcomers to different regions of the country, including small towns and rural communities."
Apart from that, there will also be an increased focus on permanent residents outside of Quebec that are Francophone, with at least 4.4% of immigrants able to speak French.
Finally, the feds will be looking at reuniting families faster as well as making the country a safe haven for refugees.
This news comes just days after Statistics Canada announced that a whopping 23% of people in Canada are immigrants or permanent residents.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
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