The Canadian government recently announced the extension of the Covid-19 related measures introduced to allow international visitors to apply for temporary work permits till February 28, 2022. First introduced on August 24, 2020, this measure allows temporary residents in Canada with a valid Visitor Visa to apply for a closed or employer-specific work permit.
Why Was this Measure Introduced?
This measure was a way to allow temporary residents to change their status from visitors to work without leaving the country. Also, this measure was introduced to help Canadian employers facing worker shortages and also to help visitors enter the Canadian workforce to meet this shortage. With international travel and border restrictions, the only way to meet these shortages was by allowing foreigners already in Canada to change their status.
According to the latest labor market statistics, the job vacancies rate peaked in June with a total of 815,800 job openings. This is the highest number since Statistics Canada started collecting data in October 2020. According to the report, the labor market shortages are expected to worsen in the coming months, putting pressure on immigration to provide for the shortage.