On December 2, 2022, a spokesperson for the Immigration Bureau announced that Canada would implement a two-year temporary measure starting in January 2023. Through a phased approach, Canada will issue work permits to spouses and eligible working-age children of valid work permit holders for all skill levels (NOC 0 1 2 3 4 5). For example, family members of healthcare, trade, and hospitality workers, who were previously ineligible for work permits due to low-wage level occupations, will now be able to apply for work permits. It is estimated that over 200,000 family members of foreign workers will be able to work in Canada under this measure.
This temporary measure will be implemented in three phases to ensure its successful execution:
1. In the first phase, spouses or children of valid work permit holders will be able to apply for open work permits through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program's (TFWP) high-wage stream and International Mobility Program (IMP).
2. In the second phase, the first-phase measures will be expanded to include the low-wage stream of the TFWP.
3. In the third phase, the measure will be expanded to include the families of agricultural workers, allowing spouses or children of agricultural workers to apply for open work permits.
Immigration will continue to play a crucial role in addressing labor shortages in Canada, and the government will continue to implement policies aimed at helping employers meet their personnel needs at all skill levels. Canada issued over 645,000 work permits from January to October 2022, nearly four times the number of permits issued during the same period in 2021, which was 163,000 permits.
