New tool to help immigrants choose a city for immigration
Canada is testing an algorithm that advises immigrants on where they can be most successful.
According to research, most immigrants prefer to live in one of Canada's major cities. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, more than half of all Newcomers now live in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.
However, these immigrants may have had more opportunities elsewhere. A filmmaker or a technician might have a great job in Toronto, but a petroleum engineer might not.
To help prospective immigrants choose a city, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been working on a research project with the Immigration Policy Laboratory (IPL) at Stanford University since 2018. This project is called GeoMatch.
"The study found that potential immigrants who followed GeoMatch's recommendation were more likely to find well-paying jobs after moving," said IRCC spokesperson, Isabelle Dubois in an email.
Currently, Newcampers tend to tend to settle in the cities that are on everyone's radar — which tend to be the biggest ones. A new tool could help make a difference, broadening the geographic scope and helping immigrants consider different communities across Canada, beyond major urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver, for living.
According to the website, GeoMatch uses machine learning capabilities to make its predictions. It takes into account factors such as immigrants' employment history, education, and personal characteristics. It then finds patterns in the data, focusing on how those factors were related to economic success in different locations.
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