Ministers Announce Canada’s Global Skills StrategyNew Global Talent Stream to help Canadian businesses support the creation of good jobs for Canadians

The Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Strategy will facilitate faster access to top global talent for companies doing business in Canada that are committing to bring new skills to Canada and create more Canadian jobs. Whether bringing in professionals to train Canadian workers or hiring global talent with highly specialized, in-demand skills, the Global Skills Strategy will help innovative firms in Canada thrive, creating economic growth and good middle-class jobs.

As part of this strategy, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, today announced that the Global Skills Strategy, including the Global Talent Stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will be launched on June 12, 2017.

This initiative will help high-growth Canadian companies attract the specialized global talent they need to innovate and grow by providing a faster and more predictable streamlined service. It will also assist Canadian firms in filling in-demand occupations where there is a demonstrated gap in the Canadian labour market. Under the new stream, a Global Talent List of eligible high-demand occupations is being developed in consultation with labour market experts and key stakeholders…

Quick Facts

  • The Global Talent Stream is one of the pillars of the Government of Canada’s Global Skills Strategy, which aims to help innovative companies grow by ensuring they can access the highly skilled talent they need quickly. Other elements of the Strategy that have been previously announced include:

    • establishing a two-week standard for processing work permit applications (and temporary resident visas when applicable) for highly skilled talent;
    • creating a dedicated service for companies looking to make significant job-creating investments in Canada; and
    • dropping the work permit requirement for short-term highly skilled work (for instance, 30 days or less in a 12-month period) and brief academic stays.
  • Companies applying for workers through the Global Talent Stream will have access to the new streamlined application process that will provide:

    • client-focused service to help guide eligible employers through the application process and the development of the Labour Market Benefits Plan, with a service standard of 10 business days; and

    • eligibility for workers to have their work permit applications processed in 10 business days.

Read the full update here