Canada opens new economic immigration streams for skilled refugees and other displaced people

June 12, 2023—Ottawa—Refugees and other displaced individuals are forced to restart their lives when they flee their home country, but they should not have to start from scratch, particularly when it comes to acquiring skills, training, experience and education. Through the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), Canada is tapping into talent that is too often overlooked by creating more opportunities for skilled refugees and other displaced individuals to immigrate and to use their education, training and experience to continue their careers in Canada.

The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced today that Canada has launched two new EMPP streams, fulfilling a commitment made on March 27, 2023. Candidates can also continue to apply through existing regional EMPP economic pathways.

These new immigration streams provide Canadian employers with the opportunity to access a talent pool of skilled refugees and other displaced people from around the world. This access allows Canada to not only increase its economic immigration and fill in-demand jobs, but also to complement its existing humanitarian commitments.

By implementing efficiencies and improvements learned through collaboration with partners during the rollout of the first EMPP streams, newcomers using the EMPP will now be able to move to Canada and start working here more quickly. These new streams also reduce barriers to access since candidates do not need Canadian work experience to apply.

Of the two new streams announced today, one is tailored to candidates who have a job offer from a Canadian employer and the second is available to highly-skilled refugees without job offers.

Through the EMPP Federal Skills Job Offer Stream, Canadian employers can hire qualified candidates to fill a wide range of in-demand jobs, including nurse aides, personal support workers, long-term care aides, software engineers, web designers, mechanical and electrical engineers and technicians, logistics and warehouse workers, tourism and hospitality workers, and truck and delivery service drivers.

The EMPP Federal Skills Without a Job Offer Stream recognizes that certain candidates have skills that are in high enough demand that they will find work after they arrive in Canada.

EMPP gives refugees and other displaced people the chance to make the most of their skills to improve not only their lives and those of their families, but also the communities and workplaces that welcome them.

Expanding and scaling up the EMPP is part of Canada’s ongoing efforts to embrace its role as Chair of the Global Taskforce on Labour Mobility by modelling labour mobility programs for like-minded countries, and to make Canada’s immigration system more responsive to the needs of our economic and humanitarian commitments.