On Friday, Canada announced it is resuming Express Entry draws to all candidates in early July. This will allow more immigrants overseas to pursue their goal of moving to Canada. This is major news since Express Entry is the main way the federal government welcomes skilled immigrants.
Canada has been ranked the top nation for immigration in the world, according to the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index of 2021. People from all over the world come to Canada to seek a better life. Whether it is for political stability, career prospects, or for the future of their children, Canada is a land of possibilities.
Here are some of the reasons why people uproot their lives to live in the north.
Canada has long experienced labour shortages, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Unemployment rates are at record lows. Meanwhile, job vacancy rates are at record highs with Canada recently reporting more than 900,000 unfilled jobs.
Despite the tight labour market, Canada’s economy not only rebounded by the end of 2021, but it also grew from its pre-pandemic state. Canada’s GDP grew 6.7% in the fourth quarter on an annualized basis, exceeding analyst expectations of 6.5%, according to CBC.
Stable political system
Canada is considered to be a very stable democracy. In 2020, it ranked number five on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s world democracy index, ahead of all North American nations.
Canada is considered one of the safest destinations in the world. According to insurance provider Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection‘s 2022 report, Canada is the third safest country in the world, and the Canadian city of Montreal is the number one safest city in the world. These results were determined using a compilation of survey results, along with data on risk, crime, and climate resilience among others.
Free health care
Canada offers free health care to citizens and permanent residents. Each province and territory has its own health plan that covers different products and services. Newcomers can sign up for their province’s health insurance system and get a health card. Through the public healthcare system, Canadians do not have to pay for most medical and emergency services.
Good education
According to an OECD report on literacy rates, immigrant students in Canada reported higher reading levels than non-immigrant students. Also, Canadian students were top performers in reading compared to other OECD countries.
There is a wide range of universities and colleges in Canada. The University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McGill University and McMaster University are within the top 100 universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Education.
Multicultural
In 1988, Canada passed the Canadian Multiculturalism Act into law. One of the first of its kind in the world, it enshrined into law the federal government’s commitment to fostering a diverse society.
Today, Canada is home to people from more than 200 countries, and a vast range of races, religions, and cultures.
This coming July, Canada will once again accept applications from its main immigration programs. These programs are managed by what is called the Express Entry system. People who are eligible for Express Entry are put into a pool of candidates and given a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The top-scoring candidates get invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
It is free to enter the Express Entry pool, and doing so not only provides an opportunity to apply for Canadian immigration, but it also opens eligible candidates up to receive a provincial nomination from an enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Those who receive the nomination are effectively guaranteed to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence, as it comes with an award of 600 CRS points.
There are settlement services funded by multiple levels of government. IRCC at the federal level has about 1,200 service providers across Canada listed on its website.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.