Healthcare occupations have been earmarked as one of the priority categories by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for Express Entry category-based draws in 2023. The overarching aim of this initiative is to select immigration candidates with specific qualifications, including education and work experience, to address labor market needs in Canada.
IRCC identified five categories facing labor market gaps: healthcare, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), transport, trades, and agriculture/agri-food. The selection of these occupations followed comprehensive feedback collection from stakeholders and the public.
Distinct from standard Express Entry draws, category-based draws give precedence to work experience in the chosen occupations rather than focusing solely on a candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
The decision to target healthcare as an Express Entry category stems from Canada’s enduring shortage of physicians and nurses, adversely affecting primary and emergency care. Instances like the closure of overnight operations at urgent care centers in southern Ontario due to physician shortages underscore the severity of the issue. Immigration has become crucial for filling vacancies in the healthcare system, with the sector having the highest job vacancy rate among category-based occupations.
Foreign-trained healthcare professionals often face challenges in obtaining proper licensing in Canada. To address this, IRCC has implemented measures to facilitate the immigration of foreign-trained healthcare workers, helping alleviate labor shortages in the healthcare system.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) utilizes the Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) to project job openings in various professions from 2022 to 2031. The projections for healthcare professions indicate a substantial demand for skilled workers in the coming years, with hundreds of thousands of job openings.
Former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser acknowledged the need for more healthcare workers and announced plans to double the number of healthcare workers brought into Canada annually. Express Entry’s category-based draws, along with targeted Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams in various provinces, present opportunities for healthcare professionals interested in immigrating to Canada.
IRCC has already conducted two rounds of invitations specifically for healthcare workers through Express Entry draws in 2023. The first draw on June 28 invited 500 candidates with a minimum CRS of 476, followed by a second draw on July 6 inviting 1,500 candidates with a minimum CRS of 463. These draws are expected to constitute a significant percentage of all Invitations to Apply (ITAs) under Express Entry for the remainder of the calendar year.
For ongoing updates on Express Entry draws, you can refer to the official IRCC page
