Introduction

We are pleased to present Beyond the border: A year end immigration wrap-up. Compiled by Lawyers from our Immigration team, this 2023 update covers topics including the Government of Canada's ambitious immigration plans for the future; an overview of the year's category-based Express Entry selection rounds; various temporary policies related to individuals studying in Canada; and Nova Scotia's new Critical Construction Worker Pilot, among other developments.

If you have any questions or wish to learn more about the topics in this publication, please contact one of the Lawyers listed below.

The information in this publication is current as of December 21, 2023 and is intended for general information purposes only. This document should not be relied upon as legal advice.

A look forward at Canada's immigration plans

This year, the Government released its 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan and announced an overview of the new direction it plans to take to modernize Canada's immigration system. An Immigration System for Canada's Future: A plan to get us there (the "Plan") is a set of ambitious action items developed in recognition that our immigration system must become more flexible and responsive to the needs and realities of both the country and its newcomers. You can read our summary of the Government's Plan in our recent Thought Leadership piece, Forward focus: Canada's ambitious immigration plan.

The three main objectives that overlay the more specific action items include the:

  • Creation of a more welcoming experience for newcomers;
  • Alignment of immigration with labour market needs; and
  • Development of a comprehensive and coordinated growth plan.

The Plan outlines an intention to incorporate more strategic consideration of the existing pressures on housing, our healthcare system, and Canada's broader infrastructure that can be exacerbated as our population grows and to target workers in construction and health care occupations who can directly contribute to a solution to these issues.

In terms of numbers, Canada intends to welcome 485,000 immigrants in 2024 and an additional 500,000 in each of 2025 and 2026. The Levels Plan incrementally increases the targets for French-speaking permanent residents outside of Quebec from 6% in 2024 up to 8% in 2026. For Economic permanent residence programs specifically, the target will increase from 281,135 in 2024 to 301,250 in both 2025 and 2026. The Express Entry programs (Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades, and Canadian Experience Class) and Provincial Nominee Program account for the vast majority of planned permanent resident admissions under the Economic immigrant category.

Canada's Tech Talent Strategy

In June 2023, the Government launched the Tech Talent Strategy, which included various efforts to increase Canada's competitive edge in the international competition for skilled tech workers. One of the components of the strategy was a new open work permit stream for individuals who already held a US H1-B specialty occupation visa. The program opened July 6, 2023 and was to remain open for one year or until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ("IRCC") received 10,000 applications. The stream ended up closing in a matter of days due to a quick flood of applicants.

Another component of the strategy, and one with the potential to have more significant impact towards the stated objective, is the creation of a new Innovation Stream under the existing International Mobility Program. IRCC has stated that they are considering both an employerspecific work permit option as well as an open work permit option for high skilled workers in certain in-demand jobs as part of this stream. While the launch of this stream was slated for the end of this year, the Government has yet to release any further details as of December 21, 2024.

Other efforts include a return to prior service standards under the Global Skills Strategy; the promotion of Canada as a destination for "digital nomads"; STEM-specific draws under Express Entry (see more below); and improvements to the existing Start-Up Visa Program.

We discussed all pillars of the Tech Talent Strategy in a prior Thought Leadership piece, Canada's first-ever Tech Talent Strategy announced.

Express Entry category-based selections

Under Canada's Express Entry System, the Government has historically determined who to issue Invitations to Apply for permanent residence to based solely on who obtained the most points for the given selection round. Points are awarded for various human capital factors, including for age, language ability, education, and work experience.

On May 31, 2023, the Government officially announced changes to the Express Entry process to allow for category-based selection. This announcement followed Bill C-19, which received Royal Assent back on June 23, 2022 and amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide the Minister with powers to set more specific criteria for Express Entry draws. This shift allows IRCC to issue invitations to applicants who meet more specific criteria than a point score alone – for example those with certain work experience, education, or language ability – and was intended to allow the Government to better align our immigration strategy with our country's needs. The Minister establishes the categories to meet certain economic goals, including to address existing labour shortages. For 2023, the categories selected and invitations issued todate for each category are as follows:

  • French-language proficiency (8,700 invitations issued)
  • Healthcare occupations (5,600 invitations issued)
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math ("STEM") occupations (6,400 invitations issued)
  • Trade occupations (2,500 invitations issued)
  • Transport occupations (1,000 invitations issued)
  • Agriculture and agri-food occupations (600 invitations issued)

There are Ministerial Instructions for each category-based round of invitations that provide further details on the criteria an applicant must meet to be considered a member of that category. For example, the last STEM draw was for those with at least six months of full-time work experience in the past three years in certain listed occupations, including, but not limited to, Engineering Managers, Software Engineers and Designer, Architects, Civil Engineers, Data Scientists, Land Surveyors, and Cyber Security Specialists.

Note that these category-based draws are in addition to regular draws focused on a certain point threshold.

Temporary public policies re: individuals studying in Canada

For temporary residents whose primary purpose in Canada is work: The Government issued a temporary public policy to allow qualifying foreign nationals with valid work permits to study without a study permit. This policy came in the wake of COVID-19 to provide temporary foreign workers improved flexibility to study. This was anticipated to allow these workers to enhance their skills, upgrade credentials and licensing, better fill jobs in essential occupations, and improve eligibility for permanent residence.

In particular, a foreign national has to meet one of the following requirements to be eligible:

  • They hold a valid work permit and the associated work permit application was received by IRCC on or before June 7, 2023, or
  • They applied to renew their work permit before June 7, 2023 and were on maintained status.

The exemption to study without a study permit lasts until the earliest of the following occurrences:

  • the above-mentioned renewal application is refused,
  • the relevant work permit expires,
  • the policy expires (June 27, 2026), or
  • the policy is revoked.

For temporary residents whose primary purpose in Canada is to study: The Government extended an existing temporary public policy from 2022 that was set to expire on December 31, 2023 and issued a second temporary public policy, both of which waive the usual work limit of 20- hours per week during regular academic sessions for qualifying international students. Both policies expire on April 30, 2023. Eligibility under these policies depends on the date of the study permit application for current study permit holders or the date of the study permit renewal application for prior study permit holders. Advice should be sought to confirm whether a given student is eligible to work beyond 20 hours a week when school is in session under these policies.

The Government is also considering what work eligibility would look like beyond April 30, 2023 and has mentioned a possibility of permanently expanding off-campus work hours for study permit holders to 30 hours per week.

Francophone mobility expansion

The Francophone Mobility Program is a Labour Market Impact Assessment ("LMIA")-exempt work permit category that was launched in 2016 under the International Mobility Program. This category is available for certain French-speaking foreign workers who are destined to work in Canada outside of Quebec. Initially, this category required French to be the applicant's habitual language of daily use. However, on June 23, 2023, the Government announced an expansion of the program for a two-year period such that only a moderate French language proficiency is required for most workers.

In particular, only individuals in Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities ("TEER") levels 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the National Occupational Classification ("NOC") with French language ability equivalent to a Canadian Language Benchmark ("CLC") 7 or higher were previously eligible. Now, proficiency equivalent to a CLB level 5 is sufficient for all occupations with the exception of primary agriculture occupations under TEER levels 4 and 5.

Nova Scotia's Critical Construction Worker Pilot

The Provincial Nominee Program ("PNP") is available for individuals who want to apply for Permanent Residence and are destined for a particular Canadian province. Each province and territory has its own streams under the PNP that target different groups including students, entrepreneurs, and skilled and semi-skilled workers. Nova Scotia in particular has a number of PNP streams for physicians, entrepreneurs, international graduates, skilled workers, occupations in demand, and more.

The Province launched a new pilot stream in 2023 for Critical Construction Workers, presumably in response to the labour shortage of construction industry workers and housing crisis we are facing. This program is for workers who have a full-time, permanent job offer from a Nova Scotian employer in certain NOCs, including as construction, home building and renovation managers; contractors and supervisors in electrical and construction trades; carpenters; bricklayers; roofers and shinglers; and other trades helpers and labourers.

Expanded work permit eligibility for family members of foreign workers

Near the end of 2022, the Government announced that it would take a phased approach to expand the eligibility of family members of foreign workers in Canada to obtain their own work authorization. Prior to this change, only spouses of foreign workers in high-skilled positions were eligible for a work permit. However, throughout 2023, Canada began allowing working-age children of higher skilled workers, as well as working-age children and spouses of lower skilled workers to apply for open work permits.

This shift is an important one if Canada wants to retain its foreign workers in the long term, as options for family members can significantly impact a worker's settlement decisions and their ability to successfully integrate into a new community. You can read more about the related temporary public policy, which is in place until January 2025, and related eligibility criteria in our prior Thought Leadership article, Open work permits for dependent family members of foreign workers.

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.