Among the proposed changes to the country’s signature “point system” for economic immigrants is prioritizing higher wages and earning potential.

Canada is proposing a sweeping overhaul of its skilled immigration system that would include prioritizing higher wages and lucrative job offers when it comes to deciding who gets invited for permanent residence in this country.

Among the proposed changes to the country’s signature “point system” for economic immigrants are factoring in wages and earning potential; offering an edge for those with a job offer in high-wage occupations; and downplaying the need for a Canadian education.

The reforms, currently undergoing public consultation, have created a buzz among experts and critics, some concerned about the use of wages to assess prospective permanent residents and their impacts on local communities where low-wage, low-skilled jobs are also unfilled.

“In the absence of strong pay equity and in the absence of strong employment equity, we know that women and racialized groups still earn less,” said Naomi Alboim, a senior policy fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University specializing in immigration. “If you’re doing it on what their wages were, you’re building potential inequity into the system.”  

It would be the first major overhaul of the so-called Express Entry system since it started in 2015. The system ranks candidates in a talent pool, where they get points for age, education, work experience, language skills and other factors. Those who come out on top are invited to apply for permanent residence via periodic draws for various immigration streams.

“Potential reforms would support the Government’s mission to attract the best talent in the world by ensuring that highly skilled and high-earning candidates are selected in greater numbers,” the Immigration Department said in a slide deck obtained by the Star. 

What is the new Express Entry plan?

As first reported in the Star last week, the department planned to cancel the three core federal skilled immigration programs — federal skilled workers, Canadian experience class and federal skilled trades — processed through the system, and streamline them into a single high-skilled immigration class.

According to the plan, the new single immigration class would have these minimum requirements: Canadian high school or equivalent; intermediate language proficiency based on the Canadian language assessment system; and one year of cumulative work experience in an occupation earned in Canada or abroad in the last three years.

The proposal said recent studies have found employment earnings as a temporary resident in Canada to be one of the best predictors of immigrants’ future employment and earnings. As a result, two factors would be added to the points grid to reward Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations and those with valid job offers from employers here.

Based on data from Employment and Development Canada’s Job Bank and Statistics Canada’s Labour Market Survey and Census, officials would establish a list of high-wage occupations that meet certain thresholds above the national median wage.

“Focusing on occupational earnings rather than individual earnings would mitigate key operational and integrity issues, and potential unintended consequences,” the Immigration Department’s presentation noted.

Candidates would also be prioritized if they’re already licensed to practise in Canada and help address labour shortages in key sectors, it added.

Points adjusted for Canadian education

The proposal recommended removing or modifying points that are currently awarded to candidates nominated by provincial governments, proficient in French, with siblings and spouses in Canada, and who previously studied here.

Calgary immigration consultant Mandeep Lidher welcomed the streamlining, and the use of Canadian median income by occupation rather than an individual’s actual wage as a base for earning potential, to avoid possible fraud by unscrupulous agents and employers. 

But he said it doesn’t make sense to remove the points for candidates with Canadian diplomas and degrees, especially given the recent reforms that have tightened the integrity of the international student program.

“Maybe they could give points for certain fields of study that are in high demand and align with our labour shortages,” said Lidher. “If you get a master’s degree here, you should get some bonus points compared to somebody who studied outside Canada.” 

Toronto-area lawyer Sajjad Malik, a spokesperson for the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration law section, said using wages to evaluate a newcomer’s potential for success is problematic, as it can disproportionately affect essential workers such as those in skilled trades and risks repeating past mistakes by favouring candidates in white-collar jobs.

If Express Entry is meant to focus on selecting immigrants based on wages and earning potential, he said officials must also reconsider tweaking the points awarded based on a person’s age because candidates in higher wage brackets tend to be older. Currently, points for age decline annually from 30, until it drops to zero at age 45.

TMU’s Alboim said it’s hard to assess the impacts of these changes to economic immigration without knowing Ottawa’s plan with the provincial immigration nominee program and other regional immigration streams that are meant to meet local economic and demographic needs.

Immigrants who tend to leave are those who are highly skilled because they are in demand everywhere, and removing points for family ties in Canada may further erode their incentive to come and stay here, she noted.

In a statement, the Immigration Department said these proposed changes are meant to help “select candidates most likely to drive economic growth.” An online survey will be posted on its website later this spring for public feedback.