Canada has Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with over 50 countries. These relationships maintain favorable commercial conditions between Canada and fellow member nations, while removing barriers to business between them; often involving the movement of temporary business people and workers, to and from Canada. What are the benefits of FTAs? FTAs allow business people from signatory nations to enter […]

A recent Statistics Canada study shows that high immigrant retention rates in Atlantic Canada can be credited to the success of the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP).    Under the AIP, launched in 2017 as a pilot program, governments, employers, communities, and settlement agencies work together to recruit skilled workers and international graduates. Working with settlement service providers, immigrants receive more […]

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) exist in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories (excluding Quebec and Nunavut) as a tool for each individual region to nominate immigration candidates who are interested in settling in a particular area within Canada.Designed to disperse the benefits of immigration throughout Canada—especially because Canadian immigration has historically been disproportionate to Ontario, British […]

British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have issued invitations to apply to candidates through their Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs) this week.   Although provincial nomination is not in itself the same as a permanent residence, it can act as the first step towards gaining permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Most Canadian provinces and territories (with […]

As part of the wider family class sponsorship programs, foreign nationals who have applied for permanent residence (PR) through the Spousal/Common-law Sponsorship Program, are now eligible to receive a Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP), while they wait for a decision from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). What is the Spousal Sponsorship Program? The spousal sponsorship program is an immigration stream designed for […]

Nearly 60,000 applications have been put in processing limbo due to mismanagement, according to a recent Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request. The ATIP request (a legal recourse to request information from government organizations)—submitted by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) revealed that 779 inactive Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officers had been assigned (59,456) pending and re-opened […]

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that it will be providing funding through the Economic Mobility Pilot Program (EMPP) to several partner organizations.   Over the next few years, the program will admit 2,000 skilled refugees to Canada to help with shortages in specific, high demand sectors. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser made the announcement today during […]

In an email to CIC News, an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) spokesperson has confirmed that there have been IT issues in the Express Entry system following the implementation of National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021. This includes Express Entry candidates who are in the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP).   While IRCC says the department is closely examining these issues and working to […]

Starting in 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will use new authorities to hold Express Entry draws that invite candidates based on specific attributes rather than their overall CRS score.   The expected changes to Express Entry were made possible by Bill C-19 which received Royal Assent, or passed in both houses of parliament, on June 23. Under […]

With its own set of selection criteria, distinct programs, and the ability to select its skilled workers from abroad— Quebec today holds more power than any other province in terms of its ability to influence its immigration. In 1995 the Francophone province almost voted to become an independent state within Canada; with a modest 0.58% of votes as the deciding force to […]