Canada’s immigration system faces skills mismatch challenge

A recent Statistics Canada study highlights the challenges in Canada’s immigration system, revealing a mismatch between immigrant skills and labour market demands. While designed to address skill shortages, the system often underutilizes immigrant expertise. The study found that 35% of recent immigrants work in lower-skilled jobs, nearly matching the 40% in higher-skilled occupations. Notably, immigrants are underrepresented in critical middle-skilled technical and trades roles, essential for Canada’s growing infrastructure needs. Conversely, immigrants dominate in high-skilled professions like engineering and IT. The healthcare sector faces unique challenges, with long delays in credential recognition forcing many immigrant healthcare professionals into lower-skilled support roles.