Increased Canadian Immigration Needed for Calgary Region

A study by the Calgary Economic Development suggests that the Calgary region will suffer a shortfall of approximately 244,000 workers over the next decade. The group recognizes that this sort of shortfall is a problem being faced by most nations with balanced economies, and that there is increasing competition for skilled workers from around the world.

The Alberta Federation of Labour is calling for more emphasis on the improvement of the processes to enable the permanent immigration of skilled workers. Representatives of Citizenship and Immigration Canada identify various measures that they have been putting in place in order to better attract qualified immigrants. These include measures to facilitate the retention of foreign students in Canada, pilot projects to expedite the admission of certain workers, and programs to expedite the recognition of foreign credentials.

Provinces Encourage Canadian Immigration

British Columbia and Alberta are presently facing labour shortages that are forcing employers to recruit from abroad. Canada's federal government has enacted new rules to facilitate the admission of certain foreign workers to these provinces. In Alberta alone, there is an expected shortfall of 100,000 workers over the next decade.

Under the Expedited Labour Market Opinion Project, certain occupations are fast tracked so that the process can be reduced to as little as five days, as opposed to over five months required in those provinces at present.

Service Canada has recently added occupations in order to facilitate a total of 33 occupations in British Columbia and Alberta:

Carpenters (Journeyman/Woman)
Civil Engineers
Commercial Janitors, Caretakers
Construction Labourers
Crane Operators(Journeyman/Woman)
Delivery Drivers
Dental Technicians
Electrical & Electronics Engineers
Food and Beverage Servers
Food Counter Attendants
Food Service Supervisors
Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
Hotel Front Desk Clerks
Hotel and Hospitality Room Attendants
Industrial Electricians
Industrial Meat Cutters
Ironworkers
Manufacturing & Processing Labourers
Mechanical Engineers
Mechanical Engineering Technologists
Petroleum Engineers
Pharmacists
Registered Nurses
Residential Cleaning and Support Workers
Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks
Roofers
Ski and Snowboard Instructors
Specialized Cleaners
Steamfitters, Pipefitters
Surveyor Helpers
Tour and Travel Guides
Welders
Machinists