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On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada introduced new vaccination requirements for air, rail, and marine travellers to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19. Starting from October 30, 2021, all travellers will be required to be fully vaccinated in order to travel. The Government established a short transition period that allows individuals to travel with a valid COVID-19 molecular test taken within 72 hours of travel. Mandatory vaccination requirements will be in place from December 1, 2021, since the transition period will end on November 30.

According to the RBC Economics and Thought Leadership report, Ottawa needs to develop new ways to recruit immigrants to resolve the severe labour shortage. The report states that ‘the Federal Government and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) should close the gap between the target and actual intake of immigrants in the skilled trades by more aggressively promoting Canadian trades in source countries.’ Despite immigrants consist more than 21 percent of the Canadian population, in recent years, the share of immigrant involvement in trades programs was about 8.7 percent.

Canada’s meatpacking industry has a labour shortage crisis, and the industry is calling on the Federal Government to let them bring in more temporary foreign workers. The Canadian Meat Council stated that in Canada, approximately four thousand empty butcher stations at meat production facilities possess on average a 10 percent job vacancy rate. According to the Canadian Meat Council spokeswoman Marie-France Mackinnon, in Alberta, the vacancy rate is around 20 percent. However, in Quebec, the situation is more severe than in other provinces, since the job vacancy rate has approached 40 percent. According to her, the province limits its ‘ability to have made-in-Canada protein. It means more meat is being processed in the U.S. and other countries, and more meat imports for Canadians.’

On October 5, 2021, British Columbia held a new round in the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Tech Program (BC PNP Tech). In this draw, BC issued 108 invitations to qualifying candidates in four categories: Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker, Skills Immigration – International Graduate, Express Entry British Columbia – Skilled Worker, and Express Entry British Columbia – International Graduate. The lowest score in all categories has dropped by 10 points and was only 70 points. In 2021, British Columbia invited 1,496 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination in the BCPNP Tech. In total, BCPNP issued 9,195 ITAs to date.

In 2020, Canada registered the lowest annual number of births since 2006. Statistics Canada noted that while births dropped nationally every year since 2016. Based on data from Statistics Canada, the total number of people dropped by 13,396 nationwide. According to the release, the drop in international migration due to travel restrictions may have led to fewer births. Furthermore, other social and economic factors caused by the pandemic – the closure of schools and daycares, job loss, and financial uncertainty – may have led some families to postpone the birth of children.

From September 23 to October 4, 2021, the Government of Canada invited potential sponsors as well as those from the remaining pool of interest to sponsor forms submitted in 2020. Eligible applicants have to check their email account since invitations to apply (ITAs) have been sent via email. Sponsors who received ITAs must submit their applications within 2 months. The Government approved up to 40,000 applications — 10,000 of these applications were from the 2020 intake process, while 30,000 were from 2021.

On September 30, 2021, the Quebec Ministry of Immigration (MIFI) published the results of the 23rd invitation round in Quebec’s online system Arrima. On September 30, 2021, MIFI invited 536 candidates to apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program. In this round, the province invited healthcare workers (NOC 0312, NOC 3233, NOC 3413) and candidates working in the education sector (NOC 4031, NOC 4032, NOC 4214). Applicants had a score of at least 562 points, as well as a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. In total, Quebec invited 3,200 persons through the Arrima in 2021. Since the launch of Arrima in July 2019, the government of Quebec invited 5,890 foreign nationals in 23 draws to apply for immigration to Quebec.

On October 4, 2021, Saskatchewan updated the number of spots remaining through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) for international graduates in the framework of the temporary immigration policy. The provincial government has allocated 1,000 spots for direct submission of a nomination application for those who resided in the province on September 1, 2020, and has completed an academic program in the province. Since the last week, the province has accepted 9 applications, and 460 spots remain available. SINP updates this data every Monday. Since the launch of the program, SINP has accepted 540 applications from international graduates. Moreover, as of September 22, 2021, job offers from an approved Saskatchewan employer in any NOC C occupation will be accepted under this Temporary Measure, in addition to NOC 0, A, and B.

On October 4, 2021, the Government of Canada updated the terms and definitions related to temporary residents and also added terms relating to electronic travel authorization (eTA) and employer compliance. In addition, the term “implied status” has been replaced with “maintained status” which is applicable for a temporary resident, who has a study or work permit, and applies to extend it before the expiration of that status and remains in Canada until a decision is made on the application.

Over the last week, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held new draws in the pools of International Experience Canada (IEC). From September 25 to October 1, Canada invited 1,008 young foreigners to apply for an IEC open work permit. As of October 1, there are 30,251 candidates registered in the pool, waiting for the invitation. In this round, there were 1 ITA for Andorra, 63 ITAs for Australia, 2 ITAs for Austria, 12 ITAs for Belgium, 1 ITA for Costa Rica, 3 ITAs for Croatia, 19 ITAs for the Czech Republic, 25 ITAs for Denmark, 2 ITAs for Estonia, 327 ITAs for France, 46 ITAs for Germany, 16 ITAs for Greece, 4 ITAs for Hong Kong, 93 ITAs for Ireland, 20 ITAs for Italy, 51 ITAs for Japan, 25 ITAs for South Korea, 2 ITAs for Latvia, 8 ITAs for Lithuania, 1 ITA for Luxembourg, 16 ITAs for the Netherlands, 15 ITAs for New Zealand, 3 ITAs for Norway, 20 ITAs for Poland, 19 ITAs for Portugal, 9 ITAs for Slovakia, 2 ITAs for Slovenia, 38 ITAs for Spain, 7 ITAs for Sweden, 3 ITAs for Switzerland, 51 ITAs for Taiwan, and 104 ITAs for the United Kingdom. In total, Canada issued 22,307 ITAs under the IEC in 2021.