China and India have been Canada’s largest source of immigrants for years, but the trends are changing. Earlier this year, the Philippines surpassed China and India, becoming Canada’s number one source of immigrants.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon recently announced that will contribute almost $11 million to foster democratic institutions projects in Egypt and the surrounding boarder regions.
Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, recently announced that the Canadian Citizenship study guide has been updated to include more information about Canada. The updated guide, Discover Canada: the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, can now be ordered or downloaded from Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website, www.cic.gc.ca
A report from RBC Economics has indicated that Alberta’s economy will grow by 4.3% in 2011. Alberta is expected to have the third highest economic growth in Canada after Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Prince Edward Island has introduced five new streams into their Provincial Nominee Program, which are active immediately. The Skilled Worker Stream and the Family Connection Stream still remain part of the program.
Prince Edward Island recently hosted the Chinese Islanders Business Summit, in which they welcomed over 200 new Chinese immigrants to the province.
The Government of Canada announced their support for an employment project, entitled the Skilled Link program. Skills Link is aimed at helping youths prepare to enter the Canadian work force by providing job preparation training and work experience.
On April 1, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will announce new regulations for Canadian employers looking to hire foreign workers. The new regulations will cover various aspects of hiring foreign workers, such as the amount of time a job offer is valid to the actual terms of a work permit.
As part of International Women’s Day, Calgary will be holding a special event celebrating women from different cultures. The special event, entitled “Celebrating the Roles of Multicultural Women”, will be partially funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
In a survey of countries in Europe and North America, Canada was found to be better at integrating immigrants into society compared to most other countries.
The Government of Canada has announced that nearly $9 million will be given to 116 housing cooperatives and non-profit organizations in Quebec. The funds will be used for social housing renovations and for new investments.
An annual survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit has named Vancouver, British Columbia the most liveable city in the world. Vancouver has maintained the number one position for the past five years.
The third Monday in February is known as Family Day in the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Held for the first time in 1990 in Alberta, Family Day is celebrated as a day to recognize the importance of family.
A recent study by the University of New Brunswick and Carleton University has discovered that immigrants who have completed an apprenticeship have a higher salary than immigrants with a high school degree alone.
Studies have shown that Canada’s population is not increasing on its own and the number of children from ages five to 19 has been decreasing. Immigration is one of the main sources for population growth in Canada. Hockey Canada has recognized this fact and is now targeting young newcomers to Canada.
Last year, Canada admitted the highest number of immigrants in over 50 years. 280,636 immigrants became permanent residents of Canada in 2010, more than 6% of what was originally expected. Most of the newcomers were skilled workers.
In about one month, Prince Edward Island will be introducing a new investor program into their Provincial Nominee Program. The province had an investor program from 2001 to 2008, but this new program will have some important changes.
The province of Alberta has created a new program designed specifically for immigrants with young children. Alberta Health Services is now offering a 23-part audio series in 5 different languages. Information for the program was gathered from public-health nurses and workers who practice within immigrant communities.
Economists had predicted that 15,000 people would join the Canadian workforce in January 2011. According to a recent announced by Statistics Canada, almost 70,000 people were added to the workforce in Canada last month, almost 5 times the amount originally predicted.
Participants from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, were polled on a wide array of immigration issues. According to the recent poll, Canadians viewed immigration more positively than Americans and Europeans.
Ontario recently launched a pilot project, entitled Brain Gain, to assist spouses and dependents of certain Canadians to work in Ontario while their applications for permanent residency are in process.
Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, is helping new immigrant entrepreneurs by promoting the Fredericton Business Immigrant Mentorship Program. The program was created specifically for immigrants who wish to invest in the local business community. The program originally began in 2009 and has since been successful at pairing new immigrants with mentors from various professional fields, such as accounting and finance, business marketing, professional sales and investment.
According to new research from Statistics Canada, children of immigrants are more likely than Canadian-born children to earn university degrees. Statistics Canada also found that child immigrants earn approximately the same amount of money as Canadian-born children once they are in the labour market.
A recent study by Saint Mary’s University has found that immigrants who settle in the Atlantic Provinces (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador) do better professionally than immigrants who choose to settle in more popular destinations, such as Toronto and Vancouver.
A Vancouver pilot project was launched this week in order to help skilled immigrants better integrate into the Canadian business world. The Newcomer’s Mentorship Program is a joint project between the city of Vancouver and S.U.C.C.E.S.S., which is an organization for newcomers to Canada.
