A New Year's Eve news digest from Canada

The country is taking stock of the year and making plans for the next.

Immigration news

Over the past two weeks, Canada has held several raffles, inviting more than 1,500 people:

BC invited 71 IT professionals, 11 entrepreneurs and 243 applicants from specialist and graduate streams;
Prince Edward Island chose 124 candidates;
Manitoba selected 349 participants for the provincial program;
In the Express Entry drawing, 746 people received invitations.

Canada was able to meet its 2021 plan and welcome 401,000 new immigrants. This is a record number in the country's history. It was achieved because the government focused on granting permanent residency to temporary workers and students, that is, those who were in Canada at the time of application.

The government has already identified immigration plans for next year. Among the priorities are speeding up processing of permanent residence applications, issuing citizenship for free, creating a new immigration program, and more.

Acceptance of applications for family reunification programs is also a priority. However, it is not yet known in what format the drawing for the parent-grandparent sponsorship program will take place. In 2021, Canada was not accepting new applications, but rather selecting applicants from those who registered back in 2020.

One province has decided to launch a new immigration program in time for the new year. Saskatchewan will soon start accepting applications under the immigration pilot for professionals who are in short supply in the labour market. There will be simplified requirements for them, but a job offer is required. The province is now accepting applications from employers who want to hire candidates through the pilot program.

Jobs in Canada

Saskatchewan is going to hold a job fair for health care workers. Candidates who interest local employers will be able to fly in on a work visa and get permanent residency in Canada.

Labor shortage is a pressing problem throughout the country. About a third of small businesses are facing it. A quarter of companies are struggling to retain employees with pay raises and bonuses. That's why the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called on the government to make it easier to bring in workers from abroad.

A new study from Statistics Canada shows that the earnings of newly arrived immigrants are rising year on year. According to the latest data, the average annual income of one category of immigrants is even higher than the average income of native Canadians.