Dear Mr Brown:

I keep hearing about labour shortages in Canada and wondering what opportunities there would be for me as a Jamaican in Canada. My relatives in Canada are also telling me that Canadians are looking for work and not getting called back from companies. It seems a bit confusing. I am wondering if you have any insight?

– BBA

Dear BBA:

Although the Canadian economic and unemployment rates are recovering from the pandemic, there has been labour shortages across industries, such as aviation, health care and agriculture.

Pundits have explained that the shortage is partly due to:

• COVID-19 unemployment benefits that alleviated the need for some people to work.

• The experience of remote work has also led to an increased focus and demand for better work-life balance.

Currently, to attract workers, companies are increasing wages and also offering more flexibility in the hours they operate.

In response to your question, based on these reasons behind the labour shortage, it is not clear whether the shortage is transitory or how long it will last. As such, it is hard to determine an increase in opportunities for Jamaicans, although it is clear that Canada is now very interested in having many actual temporary residents become permanent residents.

The federal government and several provinces are also working on possible changes that would shorten the process to bring temporary foreign workers to Canada and raise the maximum number of temporary foreign workers allowed to work per facility. As such, this could lead to positive developments.

The sectors most affected by labour shortages include:

• hospitality and food service

• health care

• manufacturing and construction

• retail trade

• trucking

Please visit JAMAICA2CANADA.COM for additional information on Canadian Permanent Residence programmes, including express entry, The Study & Work Programme, Visas or Appeals, etc.

Antonn Brown, BA (Hons), LLB, MSc, RCIC, is an immigration counsel and an accredited Canadian education agent of JAMAICA2CANADA.COM—a Canadian immigration & education firm in Kingston. Send questions/comments to documents.jamaica2canada@gmail.com