Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen announced Canada is boosting immigration to 350,000 in 2021 because "economic immigration is badly needed in areas across the country that are short on workers and long on older residents:"
“Being able to get the top talent and draw on big pools of well-educated, ambitious, forward-thinking and diverse [people] is a hell of a competitive advantage that I don’t see the U.S. matching anytime soon.”
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated at Fortune's Most Powerful Women International Summit in Montreal shortly before the United State's November midterm elections:
“We’re a country that’s open to immigration right now … Being able to get the top talent and draw on big pools of well-educated, ambitious, forward-thinking and diverse [people] is a hell of a competitive advantage that I don’t see the U.S. matching anytime soon.”
What Is Economic Immigration?
Economic immigrants are people who move to Canada for career opportunities and want to live and work in Canada to improve their living standards. Canada has put into place programs to increase economic immigration in order to improve Canada's economy due to the aging workforce. Economic immigrants are admitted to Canada based on their education, skills and work experience.
According to the 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, nearly 50% of Canada's economic immigrants are 25 to 64 years old and have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The report cites 2017 statistics that the top five jobs for immigration applicants were information systems analysts and consultants, software engineers, computer programmers and interactive media developers, financial auditors and accountants, and administrative assistants. The report states that the industries that stand to benefit from immigrant workers include health care, science, transport and equipment, and other skilled trades.
Canada's Economic Immigration Programs
- Canada’s Start-Up Visa targets immigrant entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to build businesses in Canada that are innovative, can create jobs for Canadians and can compete on a global scale.
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Express Entry manages applications for three economic immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Federal Skilled Trades Program
- Canadian Experience Class
- The Self-Employed Persons Program allows people to immigrate to Canada permanently as a self-employed person.
- The Global Talent Stream fast-tracks visa for skilled immigrants.
- Ontario launched an ad campaign targeting Silicon Valley in 2017.
- MaRS is a public-private partnership between Canadian tech companies and the Ontario government to create a physical space where made-in-Canada tech ventures can thrive and to attract highly-skilled immigrants.
- Canada is developing tech entrepreneurs on the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor and in Vancouver.
- In July 2018 Quebec introduced new economic immigration rules including:
- A new entrepreneur stream for entrepreneurs receiving support from a business accelerator, incubator or university entrepreneurship centre.
- An increase of investor net worth and investment requirements.
- Introduction of startup and security deposits for entrepreneur and self-employed worker programs.
The Canadian government announced in October 2015 that Canada wants entrepreneurs and new immigration goals and programs provide immigration opportunities for skilled and educated foreigners who want to move to Canada. Canada business and economic immigration programs require planning and applicants must be able to prove eligibility guideline qualifications for each program.
