Working in Canada

With an aging population, there is a huge demand for foreign workers in certain industries, such as IT, medical, agriculture and construction.

Unlike other parts of the world where temporary workers will eventually be required to return to their  home country, in Canada, having a work permit can be translated to permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class category.

Like other countries, most desk-bound jobs and most professional jobs (except in the area of healthcare and IT) are often taken up by Canadians, Permanent Residents, international students who have a post graduate work permit.  Employers normally do not look for foreign workers living outside Canada for such jobs. 

However, while there is a demand for such foreign workers, many Employers are reluctant to hire foreign workers because of the difficulty and complexity in terminating someone who may be found not performing.  As the foreign worker may not have acquired the Canadian work culture and practices, the likelihood of not performing up to expectation may be higher than that of a local. 

We have noticed that there are many advertisements on social media of Canadian companies such as a hospital who are hiring foreign workers by the hundreds or even thousands.  We advise our readers to approach this with great caution. Why? To hire a foreign worker, there is a quota for the number of foreign national any company can hire.  Second, some of these are regulatory jobs, like doctors, nurses, electricians, plumbers, etc.  This means the person must been licensed by a provincial board.  The provincial board will never agree to a company hiring tens of hundreds of foreign workers without having been ‘certified’ by the board. 

To work in Canada, you will have to find an employer who has been given the permission to hire a foreign worker.  To secure this permission, the employer must apply for and obtain a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).  This is generally the rule, although in some cases, an LMIA is not required. 

Jobs that are Exempted from LMIA

Once a positive LMIA is obtained, you will  then apply for the Work Permit which gives you the right to work in Canada.

It is a general assumption that once the LMIA is approved, IRCC will have to issue a work permit.  IRCC is not obliged to issue a work permit because the applicant has a LMIA approved.  IRCC will consider other requirements according the Immigration Act,  not just a positive LMIA before it will issue a work permit for the foreign workers.

Visit Job Bank Canada to find it there are jobs that may be suitable for you. 

Many provinces require the recruiters of foreign workers be licensed or that they must be Regulated Immigration Consultants.You are not allowed to use Recruiters who are not licensed by the province. We are Licenced Recruiter for the Province of Nova Scotia