Canada’s labour market is facing a shortage of both skilled and unskilled workers across various industries. Demographic projections indicate that the global need for workers will continue for many years to come and many employers will need to turn to creative and less conventional methods by which to fill their labour shortage needs.

The opportunities for students to work and live in Canada have grown dramatically in recent years. In September, 2008, the Minister of Immigration announced the creation of the new Canadian Experience Class (CEC), which allows for students who have studied for 2 years in Canada and then obtained one year of further work experience to be eligible to apply for permanent residence from within Canada. On July, 2015, the CEC stream became part of the new “Express Entry” immigrant selection program.

Family Reunification has always been a cornerstone of Canada’s immigration program. Each year, family class immigrants represent a significant portion of new immigrants to Canada. In the past five years, the Canadian immigration program has, on average, approved over 60,000 family sponsorship applications per year, reuniting family members from across the globe.