BC Immigration Task Force Backgrounder on Economic Immigration Programs In Scope as Part of Review

Posted: February 6, 2012

The BC Immigration Task Force was mandated to examine the economic immigration system’s operation in British Columbia, focusing on identifying solutions to enhance the responsiveness of the following programs to regional labour market and economic development needs:

• the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP);
• the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP);
• the Canadian Experience Class (CEC); and,
• the Federal Immigrant Investor Program (FIIP).

This backgrounder provides high level information on the above programs, for informational purposes and review by stakeholders before the consultations.

The BC Provincial Nominee Program
The BC PNP accelerates the Permanent Resident application process for skilled and/or experienced workers, experienced business persons and their family members who want to settle in BC permanently. The Program allows nominees to apply for Permanent Resident status through Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) under the fast-tracked Provincial Nominee stream.

The BC PNP comprises two main program components – Strategic Occupations and Business. The Strategic Occupations component of the Provincial Nominee Program helps BC employers recruit or retain qualified foreign workers to help meet current and future labour needs. Nominee applicants under the Strategic Occupations component must either have a job offer of indeterminate length from a BC employer or have completed a masters or doctorate degree at a BC post-secondary institution in either the natural, applied or health sciences. The Business component of BC’s PNP considers applications from experienced business entrepreneurs who plan to invest in and actively manage an eligible business in BC.

Currently, admissions under the BC PNP hover at around 4,900, accounting for approximately 11 percent of annual admissions to BC.

For more information click here.

Federal Skilled Worker Program
The FSWP was established to attract immigrants who possess human capital attributes that have been demonstrated to support long-term success in an increasingly complex labour market and knowledge-based economy. Skilled workers are selected by the federal government as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other criteria that have been shown to help them become economically established in Canada.

Currently, skilled workers selected by the federal government account for approximately 38 percent of overall immigration flows to BC.

For more information click here.

Canadian Experience Class
The CEC was introduced by the federal government in 2008 to facilitate the retention of temporary residents with skilled work experience in Canada. Temporary foreign workers with at least two years of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada and foreign graduates from a Canadian post-secondary institution with at least one year of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada are eligible to apply for Permanent Residency under the CEC.

While originally expected to grow rapidly, admissions under the CEC have remained relatively limited – over 2009 and 2010, BC welcomed less than 1,000 immigrants under the CEC, accounting for approximately 1 percent of overall admissions.

For more information click here.

Federal Immigrant Investor Program
Immigrants in this Program are admitted as investors, entrepreneurs or as self-employed individuals. Applicants to the Investor and Entrepreneur categories are required to demonstrate they have business experience as well as meet net personal wealth requirements. Investors are required to deposit $800,000 for a period of five years with the federal government. The federal government distributes the funds received under the Immigrant Investor Program according to an allocation formula set out in federal regulations based on the gross domestic product of participating provinces and territories, and not the distribution of investor immigrants within Canada. Currently, BC receives 16 percent of the total investment capital accumulated through the program, which amounts to approximately $330 million in net funds. Funds are invested in initiatives that are deemed to contribute to economic development and job creation in Canada.

For more information click here.

Other Temporary and Permanent Immigration Programs
Other temporary (i.e. temporary foreign worker program, international student program) and permanent (live-in caregiver program, family and refugee classes) immigration programs do not fall within the scope of this review.

Questions? Contact Penticton Economic Development

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