Canada needs more immigration to compensate for labour shortages caused by the aging population and low birth rate.

Find out what’s happening in the Canadian workforce and why immigration could be the answer.

In 2021, “people who were or had been landed immigrants or permanent residents in Canada” — grouped in order to be simple as “immigrants” — represent 23% of the total population of this country, the highest percentage since Confederation in 1867.

Of all G-7 countries, Canada now leads the previous record set in 1921, when immigrants represented 22.3% of the country’s population.

According to Statistics Canada’s demographic projections, if current demographic trends continue, “immigrants may represent [anywhere] 29.1% to 34.0% of Canada’s population by 2041.”

These forecasts are enhanced by Canada’s 2023-2025 Annual Immigration Levels Plan, which was released on November 1, 2022.

As of now, Canada’s immigration goals call for it to take in 465,000 newcomers in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and a record 500,000 new Canadian permanent residents in 2025.

You might be wondering why Canada is allowing so many new immigrants after seeing all these large figures.

Given that immigrants in Canada made up 79.9% of the increase in the country’s workforce between 2016 and 2021, this immigration-driven population growth has been extremely advantageous for the country’s labour force. In addition, increased immigration will enable Canada to overcome what the Financial Post claims is a “historic” labour deficit.

According to a survey by RBC economists Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan, “almost half of [all] Canadian enterprises are limited from boosting production, compared to 40% before the epidemic and 30% a decade ago,” according to the Financial Post. Fortunately, “an infusion of immigration,” along with a concentrated effort towards “putting newcomers’ skills to work and integrating this expertise into the Canadian workforce,” can provide the workforce productivity a much-needed boost.

Express Entry Program Canada

Express Entry System is the skilled worker Channel for getting Canada permanent residency status. It is one of the most viable and plausible methods of Canadian immigration. The aspiring applicants enter the pool, and they are assessed as per their credentials. The candidate’s selection is point based, and the score is calculated with the help of the Comprehensive Ranking System ( CRS) tool. The points are evaluated based on age, language, education, work experience, and adaptability. The high-scoring applicants make it to the list of selected applicants and receive the Invitation to Apply ( ITA) for Canada PR.

An Invitation to Apply ( ITA)  is not a Canadian PR status in itself; rather, it is an invitation to apply for Canada Permanent residency and establishes your potential to migrate.

Express Entry System is divided into sub-streams –

• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• Federal Skilled workers program (FSWP)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

How does the Express entry work?

The applicant can apply for the Express Entry program by satisfactorily undertaking the following steps –

• Step 1 – Check eligibility for the Program
• Step 2 – Create Express Entry Profile
• Step 3 –  Receive Invitation to Apply (ITA)
• Step 4 –  Apply within 60 days with documents
• Step 5 – After verification, Get a Canada  PR visa