Canadian Immigration Attracts more Temporary than Permanent Workers

24/07/2008 by Robbie Ragless

Temporary foreign workers are flooding into Canada and particularly the province of Alberta is receiving newcomers in droves. This has resulted in astounding population growth in Alberta and the rest of Canada in general.

The number of temporary workers who aim to spend just one or two years in Canada is surpassing those with permanent visas. In Alberta alone almost 30 000 temporary workers arrived in 2007, while the number of new permanent residents was just over 20 000.

"Canada needs foreign workers in order to cope with the current labour shortages," says Leane Hurrell of www.globalvisas.com, a visa and immigration authority. She however adds that, "Although the influx of workers is a positive, there is a greater need for permanent residents rather than temporary workers."

The number of those coming to Canada permanently has dropped by 15 000 in the past year. This has been attributed to visa backlogs and economic growth in developmental countries.

The numbers, with the temporary workers, is sufficient to meet current needs explains Karen Shadd, Canadian immigration spokesperson. She says, "While the number of permanent residents admitted this year was lower than planned, the overall number is up because of a significant increase in temporary residents to meet Canada's labour market needs."

However the question is, with plummeting numbers of permanent newcomers, can this be enough to sustain the labour market in the future?

The number of those on temporary visas in Canada drew by 22% in 2006 and 2007. And in Alberta these workers grew in number by as much as 66%. Alberta is in fact the home of one in five short-term Canadian immigrants.

In Alberta there are 37 000 people temporarily living and working, many of these workers come from Mexico and the Philippines. Diane Finley, immigration minister wants to attract as many as 265 000 immigrants this year.

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