International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The second is the main programme for temporary workers, the Temporary Foreign
Worker Program (TFWP), which allows businesses to hire a Temporary Foreign
Worker belonging to a skilled occupation class matching any code. Originally,
TFWs were also confined to the same NOC codes as in the FSWP, but in 2002,
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced a stream for lower-skilled
workers, referring to those in occupations matching NOC codes C and D, which
require vocational or on-the-job training. Employers who wish to hire a temporary
worker request a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Human Resources and Skills
Development Canada (HRSDC), which assesses the genuineness of the job offer,
ensures the temporary worker is being offered the prevailing wage, and examines
proof that the position could not be filled with a domestic worker. A positive LMO
would authorize the employer to hire the temporary worker. There are two smaller
programmes for live-in caregivers and seasonal agricultural workers, which follow a
similar structure. Anyone living in Canada through the TFWP is only permitted to
remain in Canada temporarily, for a period of up to two years. However, under the
new Canadian Experience Class (CEC), those who have Canadian work experience
but are not permanent residents can now apply from within Canada to become
permanent residents and immigrate to Canada more quickly, if they wish to remain
in the country. Those transitioning through the CEC would be considered economic
immigrants.
The third main programme, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), is relatively
new – the first nominee agreements were signed in 1998. The PNP allows Canadian
provinces to develop their own criteria for immigration applicants and approve them,
as an alternative route of entry to the FSWP. Immigrants entering through the PNP
do not face any restrictions on their mobility; they have full mobility rights to move
to any province. Those entering through the PNP are also considered economic
immigrants and permanent residents. In addition, following an agreement with
the federal government allowing Quebec to manage its own immigration levels,
Quebec has its own FSWP, which is known as the Québec Skilled Worker Program
(QSWP). Consequently, Quebec has no PNP, as it has no need for one.
CIC maintains targets each year for the entry of immigrants, which can serve as a
rough guide of the relative size of different groups entering Canada. Of the 150,000
to 160,000 economic immigrants projected to enter Canada in 2012, between
55,000 and 57,000 are projected to enter under the FSWP, while between 42,000
and 45,000 are projected to enter under the PNP. Another 31,000 to 34,000 will
enter through the Québec Skilled Worker Program. Note that not all of these
individuals would enter Canada with the intention to work; in a typical year, 60 per
cent of permanent residents entering Canada would intend to join the labour force.
The remaining economic immigrants enter Canada through smaller programmes
for business owners, investors, live-in caregivers, and individuals transitioning to
citizenship through the CEC (CIC, 2012b). The FSWP can therefore be expected
to encompass over a third of immigration by permanent residents to Canada, while
the PNP and FSWP combined will comprise nearly three quarters of all economic
immigration by permanent residents to Canada.
country studIes – CANADA
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