Popular urban studies theorist Richard Florida has named Ottawa-Gatineau as the best city in Canada for mid-career people, families and retirees to live in, as well as one of the top three cities for singles and empty-nesters, in his latest book.
Mr. Florida – widely cited for his work on the effect of creative and artistic workers on a city's economic development – said in the Canadian edition of his new book, Who's Your City?, that Ottawa-Gatineau is the most attractive place to live in the country for young professionals and families with children, while Calgary gets top billing for singles and recent university graduates. The National Capital Region took third place for the singles category, after Iqaluit.
In the "empty-nesters" group, Toronto was chosen as the top destination, with Ottawa-Gatineau named as the second-best city for that demographic.
The ranking takes into account the percentage of the city's population that fits a particular life stage, the regional economic growth and climate for creativity, talent and tolerance, the amenities and quality of life factors such as arts and culture, and the specific cost of living.
Despite Ottawa-Gatineau's reputation for being a "boring ... bureaucratic town," the city ranked more highly overall than Canada's three largest urban hubs: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
While Mr. Florida named Toronto as the best city for younger baby boomers whose children have left the family home, as well as the second-best place for families with children and retirees, the city was surprisingly left out of the top 10 best places for singles.
Meanwhile, Mr. Florida's book called Montreal and Vancouver "best buy" locations, with the former cited as the eighth-best city for empty-nesters and only the 10th-best destination for all the other life stages.
Vancouver made an appearance on two of the categories – empty-nesters and retirees – taking seventh and sixth place for each respective demographic. It was outshadowed by the provincial capital Victoria, which was named as the fourth-best location for singles, empty-nesters and retirees, and eighth-best for young professionals.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) Minister Diane Finley has signed three new agreements with her counterparts in the European Union to improve labour mobility between Canada and the EU. The goals of these agreements are to improve foreign credential recognition, facilitate international labour mobility, and strengthen the Canada-EU partnership.
Two of today's announced agreements focus on engineers and environmental professionals, seeking to align practices in the engineering field and to develop mutual certification frameworks for environmental workers in Canada and the EU. The third will help organize two roundtable discussions on foreign credential recognition and labour mobility, one in Europe this year and the other in Canada in 2010.
"The Government of Canada, through HRSDC, is again demonstrating leadership by investigating mechanisms to allow the Canadian environment sector to reach its full economic and employment potential in the global economy by funding a scoping project to document reciprocal mobility of competent workers between Canada and the European Union," said Grant Trump, of the Environmental Career Organization of Canada.
With the new changes on the immigration laws after 2008, there are now a new list of the 38 most demanded occupations in Canada, here’s the list:
* 0111: Financial Managers * 0213: Computer and Information Systems Managers * 0311: Managers in Health Care * 0631: Restaurant and Food Service Managers * 0632: Accommodation Service Managers * 0711: Construction Managers * 1111: Financial Auditors and Accountants * 2113: Geologists, Geochemists and Geophysicists * 2143: Mining Engineers * 2144: Geological Engineers * 2145: Petroleum Engineers * 3111: Specialist Physicians * 3112: General Practitioners and Family Physicians * 3141: Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists * 3143: Occupational Therapists * 3142: Physiotherapists * 3151: Head Nurses and Supervisors * 3152: Registered Nurses * 3215: Medical Radiation Technologists * 3233: Licensed Practical Nurses * 4121: University Professors * 4131: College and Other Vocational Instructors * 6241: Chefs * 6242: Cooks * 7213: Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades * 7215: Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades * 7217: Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Construction Equipment Crews * 7241: Electricians (Except Industrial and Power System) * 7242: Industrial Electricians * 7251: Plumbers * 7252: Steamfitters, Pipe fitters and Sprinkler System Installers * 7265: Welders and Related Machine Operators * 7312: Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics * 7371: Crane Operators * 7372: Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction * 8221: Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying * 8222: Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service * 9212: Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities
Before you come to Canada, it is very crutial to have your academic documents such as diplomas, transcripts and certificates evaluated. As an immigrant, you may need to evaluate your credentials for the following purposes:
1-Immigration, for skilled or Economic categories.
2-Employment.
3-Licensing with Professional Association.
4-Entry to Apprenticeship training programs.
5-Higher Education and/or Continuing Education.
The process for gettingyour credential evaluated will depend on whether you want to enter a regulated or not regulated occupation., or pursue continuing education. As a general rule, if your chosen occupation is regulated, the recognition of qualifications will be determined by the appropriate provincial or territorial regulatory body, while for a non-regulated occupation, recognition is normally at the discretion of the employer.
You can find out more about the specific requirements for recognition of your qualifications in your profession/trade by doing the following:
Contact the professional association governing your occupation in your own country to find out if there are any links with similar associations in Canada. Consult the publication entitled National Occupational Classification at the closest Canadian diplomatic mission to find out more about employment requirements for your occupation.
Find out the name and address of the professional regulatory body governing your profession/trade in the province or territory where you intend to settle by enquiring with CICIC.
Write to the regulatory body and ask about the specific requirements and costs for licensing, certification, or registration, as well as the recommended procedure for an assessment. The regulatory body will advise you concerning the required documentation and the fees for assessment.
You should be aware that the recognition process is different in each province and territory and for each profession/trade. It can be a costly and time-consuming process; so it is important that you obtain all the information you need to know about the process and specific requirements before undertaking an assessment.
There are several evaluation services that can help you in assesssing your credentials in comparison with the canadian educational standards.Some of the organizations that perform credential evaluations in Canada are:
* The Government of the Northwest Territories provides this service through an interprovincial agreement with the Government of Alberta.
The government’s Foreign Credentials Referral Office website (www.credentials.gc.ca) features a useful search engine called” Working in Canada”. You can type in your occupation and the search engine will bring up a comprehensive report that tells you whether this occupation is regulated in Canada and whether you need to be licensed by a regulatory body. Then it will tell you where in your region of choice you can get licensed.
The Canadian Immigration system is designed to attract highly educated and skilled people to meet the economic demand of the society. But once newcomers arrive, they are confronted with a lot of challenges once they start looking for employment. Every year more than 250,000 new immigrants are in this situation. Those who work smart and hard can overcome the initial barriers.
The most common barriers for new immigrants in Canada are:
1-Language Skills in either English or French.
2-Accreditation of foreign diplomas and recognition of international experience.
3-Lack of social and business networks.
4-Competing with established Canadian.
5-Lack of Canadian experience in their field.
6-Need a Canadian licence to work in a regulate occupation.
These barriers are just some reasons why skilled immigrants such as doctor, engineers, lawyers and teachers may start working as taxi drivers or fast food cashiers. In most cases these are temporary survival jobs. For instance, a new immigrant might consider improving his skills by taking language and computer classes or enrolling in college to prepare for certification in a professional field.
If you want to immigrate to Canada, you will need to have a plan. Remember if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I highly recommend these tips for success:
1-Learn, improve and practice the language.
2-Become computer literate.
3-Acreditate your credentials before coming to Canada.
4-Obtain an international driver’s licence.
5-Know the requirements of your occupation.
6-Understand the job market.
7-Email your resume to companies or online job board such as Monster.ca, Workopolis.com, nexus-jobs.com, etc.
Success will not come easy, but if you use the Canadian support system (government, businesses, online communities and settlement organizations), your chances for success will increase dramatically.
The International Student priority assessment stream is for graduates who have established strong ties to Manitoba and intend to live, work and establish their careers here.
To be eligible to apply you must have already: graduated from a post-secondary educational program of at least one academic year at a Manitoba institution obtained a post-graduation open work permit from CIC received from a Manitoba employer a formal offer of a full-time, long-term job related to your field of studies, AND You must be working for that Manitoba employer, and have been so for at least six months. How to apply for a post-grad work permit NOTE: You must apply to CIC for your work permit within 90 days of completing your educational degree or program requirements. The CIC website has the application, instructions and details on the program. If you need help see the international student advisor at your school.
Get help with your Manitoba Provincial Nominee applicationTo apply for the PNP download an application kit or pick one up at Manitoba Immigration and Multiculturalism's Winnipeg office. If you need assistance or more information attend one of our information sessions for students. They are held the last Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. on the 7th floor of 213 Notre Dame Avenue. To attend an information session please register in advance. E-mail mpnp-info-sessions@gov.mb.ca or phone 945-2806.
CIC changes don't affect current MPNP applicationsCitizenship and Immigration Canada changed the criteria for its Post-graduate Work Permit Program April 21, 2008. Manitoba grads currently on a work permit issued prior to that date can still apply to the PNP under the old criteria. As well, the changes do not affect applications already submitted.
Manitoba's processing times for student applications continue to be expedited and you will continue to receive priority assessment.
If your status changes while you're awaiting MPNP assessmentWorking grads who move from the job they indicated on their PNP application must notify the PNP in writing and include a personal reference and job offer letter from their new employer in Manitoba.
Grads from other provinces are welcome. If you completed a post-secondary educational program in another province of Canada you could still qualify for the MPNP under the Employer Direct stream.
To be considered, grads from other Canadian provinces or territories must: be working and have been with the same Manitoba for at least six months on a post-graduate open work permit demonstrate strong ties to Manitoba (such as friends or family) Go to the Employer Direct page to read what you must do under this PNP assessment stream.
This is the procedure followed by immigrants who have successfully settled in Manitoba as provincial nominees.
1-Learn about Manitoba Read the information in the Before you apply section about jobs, society, language, etc. so you can make an informed choice and have realistic expectations about resettling yourself and your family in Manitoba.
2-Download and print the free application kit.The application kit is a booklet with detailed explanations and instructions. It includes all PNP forms, free of charge.
3-Read the entire application before you start filling it in.
4-Determine which forms you need.For example, Family stream requires an affidavit of support (MAS); the General stream requires different supporting documents with your application.
5-Gather your supporting documents.The Document Checklist explains what personal and other documents you are required to send with your application. For example, letters from your employer, school records.
6-Fill in your application.
7-Check your application.Verify you have filled in every question and included all documents you were instructed to prepare and include.
8-Mail your application to our office.Photocopy your completed application for your records (and your permanent residence application should be approved by the PNP). Mail the original to the PNP office in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
9-Wait for their reply.Their will mail you a letter advising that they received your application, then a letter advising you of the outcome of your application.
10-Successful applicant applies for Canadian permanent resident visa.If you are accepted to the PNP we will send you a Letter of Approval. You need this when you take the last step in the immigration process, which is applying to the Government of Canada for permanent resident visas for you and eligible family members.
