Canada announces major haul in PR for construction workers; study without permits and other key announcements

Canada announced a major haul in its Permanent Residency (PR) program for immigrant construction workers on Friday, March 7, thanks to the persistent labour shortages amid housing supply shortages in the country.

Addressing a press conference, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), said nearly 14,000 foreign national construction workers may be admitted to Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, an estimated 23 per cent of all general contractors and residential builders in Canada's residential construction sector are immigrants.

He, however, did not say whether they would be admitted under permanent pathways, temporary pathways, or a combination thereof.

‘Study without a permit’

Marc Miller also said Canada will now "allow qualified foreign workers who register for apprentices to study without a permit."

The Canadian government has not yet announced when the changes to permanent residency spaces or the new pathways will take effect, nor have they provided details on the eligibility criteria for the construction worker permanent residence pathway.

Advisory council on the construction sector

Canada will also set up an advisory council to inform federal government policy on construction.

According to Marc Miller, this advisory council will consist of representatives from the government, unions, and industry employers. It will provide input on prevailing wages and the number of construction workers foreign nationals Canada will have to admit.

This advisory council will meet as early as next week.

Why just the construction industry?

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimates that an additional 6 million homes must be built by 2030 to restore housing affordability, highlighting the urgent demand for skilled workers in the construction sector.

Ongoing labour shortages in construction reveal Canada's challenge in training and replenishing its workforce domestically. As a result, the country has increasingly relied on immigration to attract more construction workers and skilled tradespeople.

“...as hard as we try, we cannot train them [skilled trades and construction workers] here in Canada,” Miller highlighted in the press conference.

He also clarified that a key reason for establishing the changes was that current pathways to bringing skilled tradespeople to Canada did not welcome the volume of workers sufficient for the country's labour market and housing needs.