Archive for December, 2008

Canada sees largest third quarter jump in 18 years

Published by
graham
at December 28, 2008 in Canada Immigration. 0 Comments

The third quarter of 2008 saw the greatest number of new migrants enter Canada between the July and October since 1990, according to Statistics Canada.

The current population of Canada stands at 33,441,300, up 129,900 since July.

With the exception of the Northwest Territories, which saw a marginal decline of 138 residents, every Canadian province and territory recorded substantial growth, most of which was seen in Western Canada, where Alberta continues to attract droves of skilled migrants.

New migrants with Canadian skilled visas, as well as Canadians relocating to Alberta, totalled 25,640 during the third quarter of 2008, largely due to the continuing job opportunities offered in the province.

“Usually, people go where there are jobs, so that explains the strong tendency toward Alberta,” said Hubert Denis, senior analyst for Statistics Canada.

Across Canada, a total of 71,300 new migrants chose to relocate to Canada between July and October, reflecting the success of government initiatives aimed at boosting the national workforce.

Canada set to introduce new three-year work permit

Published by
graham
at December 20, 2008 in Canada Immigration. 3 Comments

In a bid to align immigration with labour shortages, Canada’s Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, is set to announce a change in immigration ruling, offering skilled migrants a three-year Canadian work permit as opposed to the present one year allocated to foreign skilled workers.

New migrants seeking Canadian skilled visas in fields such as teaching, engineering and accountancy are likely to be amongst those who will benefit from the policy change.

“We are trying to get all the skilled people we can to Canada quickly,” Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. “The last thing we want is to strangle a Canadian company that’s ready to grow because of a shortage of labour,” said Kenney.

“Even though we are going into a period of economic difficulty, we continue to have a number of skilled labour shortages in certain areas of the economy.”

By introducing a three-year increment for skilled workers to be employed in Canada, the government aims to see skilled migrants undertake full projects from beginning to end, thus lowering costs and increasing competitiveness in the workplace.

Canada set to open the gates to skilled migrants in 2009

Published by
graham
at December 17, 2008 in Canada Immigration. 4 Comments

Canada is set to welcome between 240,000 and 265,000 refugees in 2009, according to Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney.

The plan for the forthcoming calendar year includes the intake of 156,000 new migrants in the economic category and 71,000 in the family category.

Mr. Kenney also aged that under new and improved administration, all applications for Canadian migration lodged before 27 February 2008 will be processed as a priority, provided the applicants hold one of the 38 specified migration in demand occupations, or have an arrangement for sponsors employment in Canada or have already been legally residing in the country for over a year.

At a recent press conference, Minister Kenney said: “We expect new federal skilled worker applicants, including those with arranged employment, to receive a decision within six to 12 months compared with up to six years under the old system,” said Minister Kenney. “All other economic class applications—including applicants chosen by Quebec, provincial nominees, the Canadian Experience Class, and live-in caregivers—will continue to be given priority.”

These improvements, coupled with various other new migration incentives, such as the Canadian Experience class, look set to bring the country in line with its two major skilled migration rivals, Australia and New Zealand, both of whom have successfully slashed their respective immigration backlogs.

“The recent steps this Government has taken to improve our immigration system will help ensure that Canada remains competitive internationally and responsive to labour market needs domestically,” said Minister Kenney.

Canada’s banks are the soundest in the world

Published by
graham
at December 1, 2008 in Canada Immigration. 0 Comments

In the midst of the global financial crisis, it has been revealed that Canada has the most secure banking system in the world.

A report conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has placed Canada at the top of the pile, just above the likes of Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia.

The statistics have been compiled based on information provided by 12,000 corporate executives throughout the world. A system of rating the banking systems of individual countries was conducted by participants answering a number of questions and rating the banks on a scale of one to seven, one being in need of government support seven being entirely healthy.

Canada’s baking system, lead by Royal bank, CIBC, Scotiabank, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal and National Bank, received the highest rank in the world, scoring 6.8 on the rating scale.

The top 10 safest countries for banking are currently as follows:

Canada (6.8)
Sweden (6.7)
Luxembourg (6.7)
Australia (6.7)
Denmark (6.7)
Netherlands (6.7)
Belgium (6.6)
New Zealand (6.6)
Ireland (6.6)
Malta (6.6)

Conservative Leader, Michael Harper, used the findings to illustrate the strength of Canadian banks, citing the fact that they are in no need of government help whatsoever.

“There is no question, no possibility of bailing out the banks. The banks aren’t seeking to be bailed out; the government won’t be bailing them out. That isn’t going to happen” he said.