(Photo: canadavisa.com)
Starting in March 2017, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada will be accepting applications for permanent resident status as part of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. The three-year pilot program aims to attract and retain skilled immigrants in the Atlantic region of Canada: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The program aims to address the growing labour needs in Canada’s Atlantic provinces. With a smaller and now aging population, the Atlantic provinces are now looking to increase population growth, develop a skilled workforce, and increase the employment rate. In hopes of contributing to Atlantic growth in these ways, the pilot program will focus on the following five priority areas:
- Skilled workforce and immigration
- Innovation
- Clean growth and climate change
- Trade and investment
- Infrastructure
Under the plan, the government will accept up to 2,000 new applications in 2017, hoping to increase the numbers in the years to come. This particular project aims to keep the newcomers in the Atlantic region by focusing on the employers’ role in immigration and settlement.
There are three categories within the pilot program:
- The Atlantic High-Skilled Program (AHSP), targeting candidates with a qualifying job offer for a one-year contract for full-time employment in a position at level 0, A, or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC);
- The Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program (AISP), targeting candidates with a qualifying job offer of indeterminate duration for full-time employment in a position at level 0, A, B, or C of the NOC; and
- The Atlantic International Graduate Program (AIGP), targeting international graduates of post-secondary study programs of at least two years’ duration, undertaken at a publicly-funded institution in the Atlantic region. Such graduates are also required to have a qualifying job offer.
To be eligible for the pilot, employers must demonstrate a commitment to supporting skilled immigrant workers and their families as they adjust to new life in Canada. As an employer-driven program, the pilot beings with employers finding qualified applicants and proceeding with a job offer.
Often, an employer would need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to show that no Canadian worker is available to do the job for which they are hiring. However, this pilot program would not require employers to file this application. In this way, the program strives to remain accessible.
Once the program opens in March 2017, any employers looking to fill an immediate job vacancy will be able to bring a skilled immigrant into Canada right away on a temporary work permit. To qualify for the temporary work permit, the skilled immigrant will need evidence of a valid job offer, a letter from the province, and demonstrated commitment to apply for permanent residence within 90 days of the temporary work permit application
In order to participate in the program, employers will have to apply to become a designated employer under the pilot. Atlantic provinces are now accepting applications from employers who would like to participate in the program, and hire skilled immigrants under the pilot.