Last month, Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent from 7.4 percent in June, two percentage points lower than the United States. While economic forecasts predicted that 15,000 jobs would be added in July, 25,000 new full-time positions were created, aiding in the drop of the unemployment rate.

Canada has long been home to many Muslim immigrants. According to the 2006 Census, there were close to 1 million Muslims living in Canada. The majority of Muslim immigrants live in the province of Ontario, with the larger groups settled around Toronto. Immigrants of all religious backgrounds choose to immigrate to Canada as there is no official religious discrimination according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

According to two indexes released this week, Canadian employers are steadily increasing recruitment. The Monster Employment Index showed that online recruitment in the second-quarter of this year was at its highest level since 2008. The Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS) also showed that increased employment opportunities has brought the Canadian employment industry to near pre-recession levels.

 

As of July 18, 2011, applicants who are applying for Canadian permanent residence are encouraged to use the new set of immigration forms: Generic Application Form for Canada (IMM 0008) and Schedule A – Background/Declaration (IMM 5669).

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has updated their website with the number of applications received so far under the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, announced today that Canada will shortly be introducing a ten-year multiple entry visa.

Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta’s Minister of Immigration and Employment, is urging the federal government to allow more than 30,000 temporary foreign workers in the province to settle in Canada permanently.

A new QS World University Ranking placed Quebec’s McGill University’s law faculty as 12th best in the world and number one in Canada. Rankings were based on academic opinion, employer opinion, and citations by academics.

The Canadian government is discussing ways to make it easier for Americans with convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) to enter Canada. The federal government has been receiving numerous complaints that border officials are not allowing Americans to enter Canada because of former DUI convictions. Statistics provided by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) show that 6,948 Americans were denied entry into Canada on the basis of criminality.

The Government of Canada has launched a website to help Canadians identify which job sectors are hiring and which sectors are likely to experience growth in the future.

In celebration of Canada Day, MacLeans has released a report of the things that makes Canada a great nation. From large housing to an advanced medical research programs, there are many reasons why immigrants should choose to settle in Canada.

Today, Canada celebrates its 144th birthday! Canada Day, celebrated every July 1st, is a national holiday that marks the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act. This act brought three separate British colonies (Nova Soctia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada) together to form one country: Canada.

The province of Alberta has launched a free online tool, the Education Overview Guide, to help employers better understand the educational credentials of immigrants seeking to work in Alberta.

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today that legislation regarding immigration consultants will come into effect on June 30, 2011.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has just announced changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Immigrant Investor Program and the Federal Entrepreneur Program.

Increasing job opportunities in Alberta have many Canadians moving to the province. More than 5,300 Canadians moved to Alberta between January and the end of March compared to only 300 during the same time period last year.

To mark World Refugee Day, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney launched a new exhibit and Youtube video that demonstrates the hardships experienced by refugees and explains how Canada is helping them.

The Canadian government will soon require immigrants to undergo biometric scanning in order to enter the country in order to improve border security. This technology has been used for years by other Western countries to reduce the instances of immigration fraud.

The Government of Canada recently announced a 10-year multiple entry visa that will now be available for Indian citizens. The new visa is hoped to boost trade ties between Canada and India by tripling their trade to $15 billion within four years.

In 2008, more than 160,000 Indian students were studying abroad, but only 4,000 of them were in Canada. Canada is looking to change those numbers by playing a larger role in India’s desire for higher education.

Once dominated by British, German, and Italian immigrants, Vancouver’s population can now be considered “Eurasian” as thousands of Asians immigrants now call the city their home.

In less than one month, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will be announcing the new list of qualifying occupations for the Federal Skilled Worker program. Currently, applicants must have at least one year of skilled work experience in one of the 29 open occupations or have valid job offer from a Canadian employer.

A former Canadian Immigration Director has stated that Canada needs to increase its annual immigration intake by 100,000 a year to match needed population targets. Robert Vineberg, former Director of Federal-Provincial Relations at Immigration Canada, is calling for policy changes in order to boost immigration numbers in most provinces.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently released a bulletin stating that the Canadian visa office in Taipei, Taiwan will no longer be accepting new applications.

According to the Better Life Index, created by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada placed second out of 34 counties for having the best quality of life.