Immigration Canada

Canadian Immigration presents agri-food opportunity.

Agriculture (Photo credit: thegreenpages)

Changing needs in the domestic market won’t be enough, however, to meet premier’s agri-business challenge says economist

by SUSAN MANN

New Canadians present a growing market opportunity for agri-business, provided businesses can adapt to changes in food preferences and can quickly roll out their products, says Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist.

But a Western University economist says he doubts shifts in the domestic market present enough of a growth opportunity for companies to meet Ontario Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne’s challenge of doubling the province’s agri-food sector growth by 2020.

“When you’re talking about adding billions of dollars of extra food processing and sales of primary agricultural products, you’re not going to do that in Canada,” says David Sparling, chair of agri-food innovation and regulation at the university’s Ivey School of Business. “Our market isn’t big enough.”

The industry therefore must also focus on increasing exports and adding more value to products, such as establishing local food systems, or manufacturing more value added products, he says.

Jean-Phillippe Gervais, chief agricultural economist with Farm Credit Canada, highlighted the market opportunity presented by new Canadians on Tuesday in a company news release. The release notes that by 2020, “immigration will account for 2.2 million new Canadians and two-thirds of Canada’s population growth.” FCC predicts that the growth could mean an additional $27 billion in Canadian food spending over the next seven years.

In 2011, the largest share of Canada’s immigration population — 45 per cent — came from Asia; Statistics Canada has estimated 55 per cent of new Canadians will come from Asia by 2031, the news release says.

It adds that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has projected that demand will grow for foods such as poultry and chickpeas.

Last year Ontario imported $19.8 billion worth of agri-food products, and Wynne noted meeting consumers’ changing tastes presents one way agri-business can meet the challenge she issued Monday at the Premier’s Summit on Agri-Food Innovation at Queen’s Park.

Supplying niche markets, such as organic, health and artisan foods, specialty goods, and biochemical or composite materials as well as competing more aggressively to capture a growing share of existing and emerging international markets presented other opportunities, she says.

Wynne’s challenge has garnered both support and criticism.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business was encouraged the premier is focusing on the potential of the province’s agricultural sector says Mandy D’Autremont, the organization’s policy analyst. But for the sector to grow, “it will be important for the government of Ontario to provide the environment that will address the sector’s competitive challenges,” such as government red tape, he notes.

Ontario Progressive Conservative agriculture critic Ernie Hardeman predictably found fault with the challenge, noting it lacked details of how Wynne expects the industry to achieve the goal.

Source: http://www.betterfarming.com/online-news/significant-growth-canadian-immigration-presents-agri-food-opportunity-52365

Eligibility criteria and benefits of Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program

English: Manitoba Province within Canada. Español: Provincia de Manitoba en Canadá. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Posted on October 7, 2013

Canada is one of the most sought after countries for skilled workers. The country has long since attracted highly skilled professionals with its Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program and other Study and works Visas.

The Canadian Visa Processing is stringent and highly monitored. However, it has launched Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) which makes easier for skilled workers to move to and work in Canada.

The main idea behind these PNPs is to attract skilled professionals to specific provinces of Canada so that they can work in the country and the province can be benefited from the immigrants’ skill. This will provide with easy Canada Immigration for individuals and the province will have a surge in its economy through the immigrants.

Manitoba is one of the provinces of Canada and the Manitoba Provincial Nomination Program is one of the best programs that the Government of Canada offers to skilled workers looking for migrating to Canada.

Eligibility criteria for Manitoba PNP:

Currently, there are two paths to Manitoba Provincial Nomination Program:

1. Working in Manitoba at present: Temporary Foreign Workers already working in the province can apply for MPNP. Also, a foreign student graduate who has been working full-time for a minimum of 6 months and whose employer has extended a long-term, full-time job ca also apply for the program. Individuals applying under this should be working in Manitoba at the time of applying for Manitoba PNP.

2. Overseas Skilled Workers: Applications are accepted from highly skilled workers who gain enough points for adaptability and employability based on 5 factors –English proficiency, age, work experience, Connection to Manitoba and Education.

Nominating individuals for the Canada PR Visa is solely at the discretion of the Province of Manitoba. This will be based on the Manitoba PNP’s assessment of the applicant’s probability of having a establishing oneself as a successfully economic independent skilled worker with the genuine ability and intention to settle in Manitoba with permanent residency.

There are two primary reasons that attract individuals toward Manitoba Provincial Nomination Program which are:

1. Canada Permanent Residence: Through this program, individuals can apply for Canada Permanent Residency (PR). A Permanent Residence gives an individual almost equal status to a citizen of Canada and after a few years of living in the country and fulfilling a few norms, a PR holder can even apply for Citizenship.

2. Expedited Processing: Individuals who are ‘nominated’ by the Manitoba Government have the option of preparing a separate application that accelerates their Visa Processing.

So, these are the eligibility criteria and benefits of applying for a Canada PR through Manitoba PNP. For a hassle free processing of your Visa documentation, contact ‘Opulentus – The Visa Company’. We have an experience of over 12 years and out expert consultants provide excellent advice on Study Visas, Work Visas, Visit Visas and more.

Alberta at forefront of seeking Americans to work on resource projects

English: Saint Joseph's College on the north campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald

CALGARY — Labour-starved employers should take a short look south to American workers, according to a new study by The Conference Board of Canada released on Friday.
The report said Alberta, which faces the most severe skills shortage in Canada, launched a pilot project last year that brought nearly 1,000 highly-skilled U.S. workers into the province.
“Alberta has been at the forefront of a strategy to recruit U.S. workers, particularly for resource projects, but Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also increasingly facing labour shortages,” said the conference board’s Global Commerce Centre.
The study said: there is no simple mechanism to bring in U.S. workers; resource projects require different approaches to workforce planning because they involve short, intense bursts of activity in geographically dispersed regions; and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a band-aid for skills shortages, but it is not a panacea or a long-term solution.
“With 50,000 unfilled vacancies and more than double that number expected within a decade, the labour and skills shortage has a direct impact on Alberta’s ability to develop its resource and energy sector. That is not just a regional problem, it affects our national economic prospects as well,” said Laura Dawson, author of Skills in Motion: U.S. Workers May Hold the Key to Canada’s Skills Shortage.
“Alberta has been a real role model in finding innovative ways to solve or to mitigate the short-term labour crunch. I think that there is no doubt that in certain regions and certain sectors of Canada there is a skills shortage.”
Education and training programs to grow those skills is a good idea but that takes time, she added.
“In the meantime, Alberta has this short-term demand and workers from the United States are particularly well-suited for filling demand in certain sectors,” said Dawson. “I’m impressed with the fact that both the government of Alberta as well as the employers and the unions have actually pulled together to find some innovative solutions. I think Alberta’s much further ahead than other provinces in tackling this issue.”
The report said many Alberta employers consider U.S. workers to be ideal to fill Canadian vacancies because they have comparable training and experience. They also understand the language and work culture, can enter Canada without a visa, and live nearby.
But the report said there is no simple mechanism for Canada to bring in U.S. workers in skilled trades. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement does not allow mutual recognition between Canada and U.S. for regulated trades and professions.
The Alberta Occupation-Specific Pilot was launched in 2012, and has already allowed nearly 1,000 highly-skilled U.S. workers to enter the province, said the conference board report. It allows employers to hire foreign workers certified in certain occupations without needing a Labour Market Opinion from the federal government.
“Alberta’s Department of Apprenticeship and Industry Training has stepped in to provide its own evaluation of workers’ foreign credentials and experience. The province has launched a recruitment campaign in the United States. Alberta employers are also targeting Canadian and American veterans of the armed forces,” it said.

“Alberta’s experience with U.S. worker recruitment provides a number of lessons for employers and policy-makers elsewhere in Canada.”
Geraldine Anderson, spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the industry is generally supportive of this initiative.
She said the industry believes in hiring Canadians first and building that workforce.
“However, there is a shortage of skilled labour in the industry and this is an important tool to sort of fill a gap in the labour market.”
Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk said the Alberta response to the skilled labour shortage is a practical one for the situation.
“We know in Alberta right now that our government and our employers are doing what they possibly can to hire local, Canadian workers because it simply makes sense. It’s cheaper to do so and it’s more practical to do so and frankly most importantly it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“But the fact is that at a time right now where we have about 4.6 per cent unemployment rate and we have 70,000 temporary foreign workers, that speaks to the fact that there’s simply a shortage of labour and it will continue to grow. We expect that we will have a shortage of somewhere around 120,000 workers within the next 10 years.”
He said that for the last 10 years or so the province has on an ongoing basis about 70,000 to 75,000 temporary workers.
Lukaszuk said the Alberta response makes sense and it allows employers to get workers here faster “because they need these workers now. Not in six months or nine months.”
According to the Alberta government, total work permits issued under the Occupation-Specific Pilot program between July 2012 and August 2013 were: Steamfitter-pipefitter, 721 (320 from U.S.); Welder, 967 (U.S. 177); Ironworker, 453 (U.S. 355); Carpenter, 154 (U.S. 12); Estimator, 81 (U.S. 22); and Heavy-duty equipment mechanic, 92 (U.S. 8).

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