Ontario Immigrants. Image credit: Wkimedia Commons
The Ontario government is under an agreement with the federal government to reportedly double the number of economic immigrants it selects to the province in 2025 to over 18,000 to boost the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and help solve the province’s critical labour shortage, federal and provincial immigration ministers announced today.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program allows the province to nominate skilled and experienced individuals for permanent residence to contribute to Ontario’s economy.
In December 2022, there were nearly 300,000 jobs in Ontario going unfilled.
A call by Ontario Labour and Immigration Minister Monte McNaughton was made for the doubling in 2021 when the province was allowed to bring in 9,000 people under that program.
McNaughton says the number of health-care workers in particular will change drastically.
McNaughton said Ontario has already put measures in place to prepare for a hoped influx under this program, including removing Canadian work experience requirements, giving newcomers more access to training programs and working to approve applications on average within 90 days.
This year’s annual immigration levels plan, said Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser was the “most ambitious” in Canada’s history.
“The need to attract talent that will both meet the demands of the labour market in the short term and attract the talent to position Canada for success in the long term was a top priority,” he said in a statement.
“This increase will help ensure Ontario’s growth in key sectors like home building and health care, while also distributing the benefits of immigration to every region of the country.”
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