Selections in the agri-food sector will take place this week
Looking forward to the next drawing in the Express Entry system.
IRCC has announced the first-ever Express Entry selection for candidates with experience in the agriculture and agri-food industry. The draw will debut as early as this week.
The selection in the agri-food sector is the sixth and last of the targeted selections promised this summer. The immigration ministry has previously successfully held such draws for French-language proficiency, for healthcare occupations, for science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) occupations, for trade occupations, and for transport occupations.
The professionals to be chosen as early as this week should be in the following professions:
- contractors and supervisors — landscaping, grounds maintenance and gardening services;
- agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors;
- butchers in retail and wholesale.
Both the Minister of Agriculture and, of course, the Minister of Immigration himself, Mark Miller, have spoken out about the importance of the upcoming targeted selection:
"Food security is top of mind for all Canadians, and our country is the fifth-largest exporter of agri-food and seafood on the planet. That is why addressing labour shortages is crucial to maintain the sector’s ability to produce and process food at this scale for Canadians and export markets around the world. This is an exciting step toward welcoming more skilled farm and food workers to our country."
These qualifying rounds by category will continue throughout the year along with general draws for all candidates.
We will continue to follow news from the Department of Immigration and the history of the Express Entry selections.
