One of the objectives of Canada’s immigration legislation, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) is “to see that families are reunited in Canada” (IRPA, s. 3(1)(d)). In relation to family-class immigration, the government has not conducted a draw to allow Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents or grandparents since 2020. This […]
Newcomers to Canada typically settle in large urban areas in the south which creates challenges in terms of the development of the vast expanses of the country away from the major cities. Most immigrants to Canada are also English-speaking, despite Canada’s official languages being English and French, with both languages having equal status at the […]
After record numbers of newcomers in 2022 and 2023, last year the government changed tack and announced major changes aimed at reducing the number of temporary residents and new permanent residents amidst the high cost of living and housing shortage. In all likelihood, 2025 will see the government continue to implement measures which will have […]
Employers in Canada with foreign worker(s) employees hired under the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program must meet certain compliance obligations. One such obligation is to conduct an annual review of the salary being offered to foreign worker(s) on work permits issued under a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). As part of the compliance obligations, employers […]
Back in April 2024, the government announced that in the fall, it would allow full-time international students to work up to 24 hours per week off-campus. This 24-hour per week limit was settled on to strike a balance between allowing students to pay for their studies and living expenses and focusing on their studies as […]
Supplementing changes this year to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada, the federal government has now announced that the number of new permanent residents (“PRs”) from 2025 to 2027 is to be significantly reduced[1]. In 2023, the government announced that its goal would be 500,000 new PRs in the year 2025. Instead, the […]
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have announced major changes regarding eligibility for intra-company transfer (“ICT”) work permits, low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIAs”), and Post-Graduation Work Permits (“PGWPs”) which will further reduce the number of workers in Canada. Here’s what you need to know: Limits to Intra-Company Transfer Work Permits The changes to ICT […]
As the federal government continues its drive to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada amidst continued high costs of living, continued housing unaffordability, and increasing unemployment, particularly amongst youth[1], it has announced new measures[2] to do so. The government target is to reduce the number of temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total […]
On August 11, 2024, a new public policy[1] from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) took effect which provides a further avenue for Ukrainians who came to Canada under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (“CUAET”) to remain in Canada as workers or students. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, approximately 300,000 Ukrainian citizens and permanent […]
The Government of Québec, with the cooperation of the Federal Government, has announced that beginning September 3rd, 2024, there will be a six (6) month pause of low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications in the Montréal region. Low-wage LMIAs are applications where the wage for the position falls below the provincial median wage, which […]
