When all-program Express Entry draws resume in July, the number of invitations could resemble pre-pandemic figures, according to an internal briefing memo obtained by CIC News through an access to information request. Although the estimated number of invitations issued in each round was redacted, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) memo said the draw size would be consistent with the average number of invitations issued pre-pandemic. All-program draws in 2020 before March 18 ranged between 3,400 and 4,500. In 2019, all-program draws ranged from 3,200 to 3,900. The memo, dated March 28, said maintaining the pause until the end of June will allow IRCC to process new applications in six months. The current inventory of Express Entry applications is enough for IRCC to meet admissions targets for 2022. However, in order to meet targets for 2023 invitation rounds will need to resume between July and September. How the Pandemic Affected Express EntryBefore the pandemic, IRCC would invite Express Entry candidates from all programs to apply for permanent residence roughly every two weeks. Program-specific draws were held only occasionally.
The pandemic changed that. When the border closed in March 2020, IRCC shifted its strategy to hold program-specific draws. For the first few months of the pandemic, only Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates were invited to apply. IRCC continued to hold draws for these candidates in an effort to meet its record-breaking immigration targets amid travel restrictions. CEC candidates, who are most often already in Canada, were less likely to be affected by travel restrictions, and so IRCC continued holding draws for them. PNP candidates were invited because of the federal government’s commitment to supporting provincial immigration goals. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates were left out because a large percentage of them are overseas, and were not able to land in Canada amid travel restrictions. Canada has announced additional benefits for international students studying in the country as well as the resumption of its Express Entry draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) candidates in early July.
Immigration minister Sean Fraser announced a new temporary policy that will give recent international graduates with expiring temporary status an opportunity to extend their stay in Canada, so they can continue to gain wo .. Starting in summer 2022, international students in Canada and have a post-graduation work permit expiring between January and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit valid up to 18 months. “We are exploring a simplified, expeditious process for this, and details will be made available in the weeks ahead,” states IRCC. About 95,000 PGWPs will expire in 2022, and as many as 50,000 PGWP holders could benefit from this new open work permit. The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) has developed a new Tech Talent Pathway to lure tech employees to the province.
The Tech Talent Pathway is designed to help Saskatchewan's tech sector overcome major labor shortages. Employers in Saskatchewan's technology and innovation sectors will be able to attract more talent to promote growth and boost the province's worldwide competitiveness thanks to this new road to permanent residence for tech professionals. In a statement, Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison said, "As Saskatchewan recovers from the effects of the worldwide pandemic, our technology industry will be an essential engine of economic recovery." "The new Tech Personnel Pathway provides a dedicated stream for our Saskatchewan firms to attract highly competent talent into our growing technology sector." This new stream will make it easier and faster for IT professionals who are already employed in Saskatchewan, as well as those who have been recruited from outside the country, to enter the country. "Our ability to attract and retain highly talented immigrants, who constitute important anchors of specialized talents in our communities and workforce, is critical to the economy of Saskatchewan," said SaskTech President Dr. Aaron Genest in a statement. "The Tech Talent Pathway gives Saskatchewan businesses a competitive edge and is the only one of its kind in Canada." It simplifies the immigration process and recognizes that we want our immigrants to stay in Saskatchewan and help us develop new solutions that we can sell to the rest of the globe." A total of $59.2 billion financial loss and a 53 percent decrease in contribution to GDP has been caused by the Coronavirus pandemic to Canada’s travel and tourism sector last year. In addition, the devastating situation provoked by the COVID-19 left 373,000 people engaged in the country’s travel and tourism sector jobless, facing many difficulties. According to WTTC’s Senior Vice President, Virginia Messina, such losses revealed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) ’s Economic Impact Report (EIR) have left “huge numbers of people fearing for the future”. Based on EIR’s report, in 2019, Canada’s travel and tourism sector contribution to GDP was $111.6 billion or 6.4 percent, while just 12 months later, it marked a 3.2 percent decrease to $52.4 billion. In addition, the number of women, youth, and minorities employed in the travel and tourism sector in the North American country declined from 1.8 million in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2020, or (20.9 percent decrease).
Domestic visitor spending decreased by 51 percent last year. In comparison, international spending dropped by 71.1 percent due to stringent travel restrictions imposed to prevent the virus’s further spread. Even though the decrease in the travel and tourism sector was profound last year, the figures could have been worse if not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme, which helped employers keep their jobs amid the COVID-19 situation, EIR’s report stressed. “However, the situation could have been far worse if it were not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme which supported up to 75 percent of wage subsidy to eligible employers and in turn, allowed many to keep their jobs in the suffering Travel & Tourism sector,” WTTC’s Senior Vice President pointed out. Read more details about this news here. |