Ottawa wants to change immigration points system to attract higher-paid newcomers

Canada changed its immigration policies in 2024, including placing a cap on the number of temporary residents, following an explosion in foreign labour in the wake of the pandemic. Photo by Alexskopje/Getty Images

Article content

Article content

The federal government over the next month will be consulting stakeholders about reforming its Express Entry system, which started about a decade ago and provides prospective immigrants with points for their education level, work experience, language proficiency, age and other factors.

Article content

Article content

Article content

The higher applicants score — the maximum is 1,200 — the higher the chance they have of becoming permanent residents, which eventually leads to citizenship.

Article content

Article content

Ottawa is proposing to provide additional points to workers who have gained experience or found employment in high-wage jobs in Canada.

Article content

Article content

Bank of Nova Scotia economist Rebekah Young said the change would be “practical” and could help Canada boost its struggling productivity levels.

Article content

One way to measure newcomers’ contribution to the economy is by analyzing their earnings. If they earn more than the average Canadian’s income, they are more likely to be making a positive contribution to productivity. If they are concentrated in low-wage job sectors, they are more likely to reduce labour productivity.

Article content

Young said the government shouldn’t just focus on proven high-skilled workers, but also bring in people who are likely to be successful in the long term. As an example, she said a 25-year-old is unlikely to initially earn as much as a 50-year-old even if they have similar skill sets.

Article content

Article content

A high-paid job makes it more likely for a newcomer to be financially successful in Canada, but studying here does not, the government’s consultation paper said. Whether this could lead to fewer points for those with Canadian degrees remains unclear.

Article content

Article content

Statistics Canada’s studies prior to the pandemic said people with a Canadian degree were more likely to be successful, Young said, but this was before the whole system “exploded” as a lot more international students entered right after the pandemic to help deal with a labour crisis.

Article content

But Canada changed its policies, including placing a cap on the number of temporary residents in 2024, and the situation seems to have improved since then.

Article content

Young expects education to become a strong predictor of success in the near future.

Article content

She also said there needs to be more transparency about the category-based system, which allows the federal government to select certain immigrants, including pilots, doctors and people who speak French, regardless of the points that they score.

Article content

“It’s subject to a lot of judgment as to what they consider critical categories,” Young said. “And that’s where you get the dilution. There’s not a lot of transparency on how they decided that versus some other categories. At a certain point, it just becomes a slippery slope where, to somebody, every job is going to be critical.”

Article content

Article content

Article content