Toronto: In a forward-looking plan, Canada’s immigration department said it has plans to scrap three existing pathways to permanent residency (PR) for skilled workers and introduce a single class.
In its Forward regulator plan for 2026-2028 posted online recently, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said, “Amendments are being proposed to the Regulations to introduce a new federal high skilled immigration class with streamlined eligibility requirements, and repeal the existing Federal Skilled Worker Class, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades Class.”
IRCC said the proposed regulatory changes “could positively impact the Canadian economy broadly, and businesses seeking skilled workers, by establishing a more diverse pool of international talent to fill a variety of labour market needs”.
It added that streamlined requirements would also ensure that the system is easier for clients, employers and partners to understand and navigate.
The department is planning to hold consultations with stakeholders on the matter this spring, before finalising the plan.
Naresh Chavda, president of Globayan Immigration Corporation, said the Canadian government “wants to enhance the current immigration system” with “high-skilled workers” and is “more focused on value-added education and professional qualifications”.
He pointed out Indians accounted for the largest country cohort under the current Express Entry system.
IRCC described Express Entry, introduced in 2015, as the country’s “flagship application management system for those seeking to immigrate permanently through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the Canadian experience class and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program”.
Among the major changes proposed will be that higher earnings will matter more than Canadian work experience in the competition for permanent residency (PR), according to the industry outlet CIC News.
Higher earning workers will get more points and there is likely to be standardised work experience eligibility, which will give equal weightage of foreign and Canadian work experience, it said, in an analysis. It said these details came from a slide IRCC shared with immigration lawyers during recent consultations. Occupations that may be favoured include those of financial analysts, engineers, teachers, physicians and professors.
