Canada’s Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser, has announced the launch of category-based selection draws for Express Entry candidates.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be
focusing on Express Entry candidates who have a strong French language
proficiency or work experience in the following fields:
- healthcare
- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
- trades, such as carpenters, plumbers and contractors
- transport
- agriculture and agri-food
The minister says that allowing IRCC to invite more skilled
workers in these targeted professions will support Canada’s commitment to
welcoming in-demand professionals into communities across the country.
A full list of eligible occupations under the new categories
is available here.
Draws under the new categories are expected to start later
this summer.
Why are there new Express Entry categories?
The new categories are aimed to fill vacant positions
throughout Canada. Immigration is seen as a vital component for reducing the
labour shortage as well as growing the prominence of the French language in
French minority communities outside of Quebec.
“Everywhere I go, I’ve heard loud and clear from employers
across the country who are experiencing chronic labour shortages” says 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. Put simply, Canada’s immigration system has never been more
responsive to the country’s social or economic needs.”
Category-based draws were expected to begin this year
following changes made in June 2022 to the Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act. The changes give the minister the authority to select immigrants based on
key attributes that support Canada’s economic priorities.
How were the categories chosen?
The categories were chosen following legislative
requirements that the Minister participate in public consultation with
provinces and territories, members of industry, unions, employers, workers,
worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration
researchers and practitioners.
Each year, IRCC will report to Parliament on
- the categories chosen the previous year
- why and how they were chosen
- the instructions to establish a category
- the number of invitations issued for each category
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry was established in 2015 to respond to Canada’s
changing economic and labour market needs. It is an application management
system that oversees three economic immigration programs,
These programs use the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to
assign a score to candidates based on human capital factors such as work
experience, language ability, occupation, education and more. The candidates
with the highest overall CRS score were the most likely to receive an
Invitation to Apply for permanent residence.
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