Visas & Advice Detail
Canadian economic recovery
Last month Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced a consultation to highlight the country's likely skills shortages for the future.
It is hoped that this process will aid continued economic prosperity in the country, and could mean more people with differing skills sets could be welcomed into Canada in the coming years.
The Canadian economy is performing relatively well in world terms, with job opportunities on the up and trade data - including oil exports – making encouraging reading for economists. Canadian policy makers wish to sustain this growth into the future, and so possible changes are being considered that would make it easier for people with the right skills to migrate to the land of the Maple Leaf.
It is hoped that the consultations will bring in views from all corners of Canadian society, and that these opinions will feed into the debate surrounding shortages in various Canadian industries. The debate will also consider the factors that affect immigrants' ability to find jobs and succeed in the Canadian workforce.
"The Action Plan for Faster Immigration is designed to make immigration more responsive to Canada's economic conditions," said Minister Kenney. "When these conditions change, the instructions are meant to change too. The first set of instructions [from previous public debate]… had a significant impact, but our research shows it is time to revise them to make sure they continue to meet their goals."
The first immigration changes made as a result of this process in November 2008 kept the backlog of visa applications from growing (helping reduce the federal skilled worker category backlog by 40 per cent) and also reduced the waiting times for immigrants. It is not unreasonable to expect that any future changes to Canadian immigration policy that come about as a result of the ongoing debate will be good news for those who dream of starting new lives in Canada…so watch this space!