With stricter immigration rules now, anybody looking to move to Canada needs to align their skills with the latest demands of the country’s job market. While the employment outlook is robust—Canada added nearly 80,000 jobs in January 2025—such a thriving economy attracts many newcomers hoping to land fulfilling roles, so competition can be fierce.
Here’s Remitly’s guide on immigrant employment in Canada, to help you identify the most in-demand jobs and navigate the job market.
Overview of the immigration and employment landscape in Canada
The Canadian job market has shortages of highly skilled labour, presenting an opportunity for immigrant workers with the right competencies. However, the unemployment rate is 6.8%, 1.8 points higher than the global average of around 5%. As a result, the government wants to reduce competition for unemployed Canadian citizens, at a time when immigrants have contributed to 98% of Canadian population growth.
So, government immigration and employment policies have changed to reflect the realities of today’s working world. This particularly affects newcomers, making it more important than ever to come equipped with the right skills.
The Canadian government plans to:
- Reduce permanent resident admissions by 21% in 2025. The 2025-2027 plan seeks to reduce permanent resident targets from 500,000 to 365,000 in 2027. They’ll prioritize temporary residents who are already in Canada as students and workers.
- Reduce temporary residents to only 5% of the Canadian population by 2026.
- Cap the international student population.
- Tighten eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers to improve the quality of temporary resident programs, and attract highly skilled workers.
- Increase Francophone immigrant communities to 10% of total permanent resident admissions by 2027.
Importance of industry knowledge for immigrants
In addition to immigration policy changes, the Canadian labour landscape has its fair share of challenges for newcomers.
Three main issues are:
- Slow hourly wage growth
Despite posting attractive wages, hourly rate growth is slow, signalling a future struggle with wage stagnation. - Increase in self-employment
Due to a higher cost of living, Canadians are increasingly seeking supplemental sources of income. Visas that allow immigrants to work in Canada may not permit this. - Restrictions on work permits
The government has restricted work permits for international students and temporary residents. This applies to their spouses too.
These transformations require immigrants to adapt, boost industry knowledge, and keep themselves well-informed. Industry knowledge will help you stay competitive in the job market, land high-paying roles, and start successful businesses.
So if you’re new to Canada and looking to establish yourself, you need to be proactive:
- Read industry publications regularly.
- Get to know people in your industry to build a network.
- Attend and actively participate in forums, workshops, and conferences.
- Take relevant courses to keep your skills up to date and show employers.
- Join and actively participate in relevant professional associations.
- Stay on top of emerging technologies and trends in your field.
Benefits of choosing the right industry as an immigrant in Canada
Canada is looking to reduce immigration, but at the same time, attract and retain top talent. So if you have the skills they need in the industries where they’re needed, you should still be able to:
- Start and grow your career in the sectors that the government is investing in.
- Cushion yourself against wage stagnation.
- Contribute positively to Canada’s economy and society.
- Ease your immigration process by strengthening your eligibility for permanent residence.
In certain sectors, there’s still great demand for people with the right skills.
Technology sector
The Canadian technology sector employs over 1.5 million workers. Within ten years, 21% of these workers will retire, creating jobs for other people. There’s high demand for information technology professionals with specific skills in emerging tech or other labour market changes:
Investment in AI
The Canadian government is investing $2.4 billion to ensure it remains competitive in AI and improve access to computing capabilities in different sectors like business and education. The plan is also to help workers in areas likely to be disrupted by AI advancement, support them as they train for new skills and help Canada adopt AI responsibly.
Canada ranks sixth in the top countries for tech. The demand to hire and retain top talent is high, so immigrants with top-level skills are well-placed to get and retain tech jobs in the Canadian market.
More investment in cybersecurity
Cyberattacks are a growing sophisticated and frequent threat in Canada—with targets including the government. The telecommunications and technology sector suffered 14.1% of the attacks, healthcare 11.9%, and the public sector 11%. With cyber criminals attacking key economic areas, the Canadian government and businesses alike are now investing heavily in cyber security, creating openings for specialists in this area.
Demand for clean technology (cleantech or climate tech)
The climate crisis requires all sectors to adopt green practices to reduce their carbon footprint. Research and development in technology that boosts energy efficiency, sustainability, environmental protection, and waste reduction provides plenty of opportunities for immigrants with the right training and vision.
Popular roles and skills sought in the technology sector
With these changes, the private and public sectors alike need:
- Machine learning engineers
- Data scientists
- AI engineers
- System administrators
- Quality assurance analysts
- Information security analysts
- Security engineer/architects
- Penetration testers
- Cybersecurity specialists
- Malware analysts
- Renewable energy experts
- Early warning system engineers
Current trends in the healthcare industry
The healthcare industry is also experiencing changes that drive demand for particular roles. These are the trends.
Telehealth
The global pandemic increased adoption rates of telehealth in Canada. Patients interact remotely with healthcare professionals such as psychologists, therapists, physicians, and other specialists. Canadians can also renew and obtain new prescriptions virtually, while remote monitoring for conditions such as heart failure is increasingly common.
Telehealth, unfortunately, is a cyber-attack target, with digital storage and transfers of patient data increasing the risk of breaches in the sector. So there’s high demand for healthcare professionals who are aware of the risks and know how to keep patient data secure.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Canada is using AI to make healthcare services more efficient. It’s already playing a part in:
- Making better-informed clinical decisions after analyzing large amounts of patient data.
- Creating early warning systems in preventative healthcare.
- Improving administration and management in the sector.
- Providing better medical imaging detection and analysis for more accurate diagnosis.
- Offering more personalized care for chronic illnesses.
Wearable technology
Wearable technology helps patients monitor their health, manage treatment of their disease, and in post-operative care at home. This tech is already making a difference across the board, including in sleep apnea, mental health, diabetes, and physical fitness.
Growing need for medical professionals in Canada
Despite great technological growth in the health sector, Canada suffers from an acute shortage of medical professionals. The government expects a shortage of 20,000 family doctors, for instance, by 2031. The number of medical students specializing in family medicine has reduced, too.
Opportunities for nurses, doctors, and technicians
With the healthcare industry embracing technology so fully, there are plenty of opportunities for nurses, doctors, and technicians. Those who also understand healthcare’s technological and legal landscape are particularly in demand, to prevent data breaches and malpractice suits.
The most sought-after people are:
- Doctors
- Pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, and technicians
- Medical administrative assistants/receptionists/secretaries
- Occupational therapists
- Disability case managers
- Nurses
- Midwives
- Medical laboratory technologists
- Dental technologists and related specializations
Construction and trade sector outlook
Immigrants currently play a key role in the Canadian construction industry. They make up a large proportion of workers in most construction-related professions:
- Architects (41%)
- Civil engineers (40%)
- Construction managers (24%)
- Urban and land use planners (23%)
- General contractors and builders of residential buildings (23%)
They also make up a large number of skilled workers in the industry—for example, 16% of all electricians.
Shortage of skilled tradespeople
These numbers are expected to reduce due to an aging workforce. Many of the existing skilled workers are getting ready to retire, and the numbers among younger generations are actually dropping. So there’s a shortage of skilled construction professionals and tradespeople.
Key jobs and training programs available for immigrants
With so much need in the construction industry, the government is keen to incentivize the sector. So there are good jobs and training programs available for:
Key jobs available for immigrants
- Boilermakers
- Gasfitters
- Insulators (Heat and Frost)
- Steamfitters/Pipefitters
- Carpenters
- Electricians
- Welders
- Roofers
- Millwrights—people who install, maintain and repair heavy machinery
- Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics
- Plumbers
- Bricklayers
- Architects
- Engineers
- Construction project managers
Training programs for immigrants
- Apprenticeships
Classroom and on-the-job training by the Ministry of Labour or accredited organization, lasting up to four years. - Build Your Future
A free, 12-week program by the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. - Employment Skills Training (EST)
Free, three-month training by the Immigrant Education Society (IES).
Credentials assessments in the construction sector
- Architects will receive Educational Credential Assessments (ECAs) from the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB).
- Under a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), foreign-trained architects can register with any Regulatory Organizations of Architecture in Canada (ROAC) jurisdiction.
Agricultural sector
The agricultural sector’s outlook should be strong in Canada, with important crops like wheat expected to increase in production. Unfortunately, labour shortages are affecting the sector; 28,000 unfilled jobs in 2022 led to a 3.7% decline in sales, for example.
The government is keen to attract high-quality agricultural workers because without action, there could be a 15% gap between available jobs and workers to fill them by 2030. So agriculture in Canada is a sector that will need a lot of people, and soon. There are already over 70,000 Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) in agriculture and that number is likely to rise.
Seasonal and permanent employment opportunities
Many Temporary Foreign Workers have low skills, and find work in Canada through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). Up to now, most of these workers leave at the end of the season. However, there are calls in Canada for these workers to have easier access to Permanent Resident status, allowing them to move to the country permanently and help ease the labour shortage in agriculture.
With that in mind, consider applying for opportunities under the Agri-Food Pilot program if this sector appeals to you. It provides opportunities for people who are looking for something more than seasonal work, including the higher-skilled roles in agriculture.
Key roles for seasonal jobs under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP)
Key seasonal roles are:
- Butchers—retail, wholesale, industrial, poultry preparers, and meat cutters.
- Labourers—livestock, harvesting, nursery and greenhouse, food processing, fish processing, beverage processing, and seafood processing.
- Fish and seafood industry workers.
- Fishmongers.
- Farm machinery operators.
- Farm supervisors.
Not all of these roles are limited to seasonal positions. There’s also demand for full-time workers in a large number of these and other roles in agriculture, food and beverage.
Hospitality and tourism
The hospitality and tourism sector is a major contributor to Canada’s economy. In 2023, for example, Canada attracted over 23 million visitors. The nation’s spectacular scenery and lively culture draws people from all over the world for everything from skiing at Whistler or hiking in their national parks, to soaking up the sun at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver.
Demand for service-sector professionals
These attractions have led to thriving hotels, tourism agencies, and restaurants, which need people almost everywhere:
- Housekeepers
- Room attendants
- Chefs and other kitchen staff
- Food service supervisors
- Front desk agents
- Server/bartenders
- Food and beverage managers
- Staff residence managers
- Spa managers
- Tourism managers
Pathways for entry-level and inexperienced workers
You don’t have to be an experienced worker to join Canada’s hospitality industry. Many immigrants start with entry-level jobs and build their skills and experience on the job, before moving on to better-paying, higher-level jobs:
- Servers
- Cooks or other kitchen staff
- Bartenders
- Bellhops
- Dishwashers
While these jobs may not pay too well at the start, there are still some affordable places to live in the country, and they could just be the start of a long and successful career in Canada. Good luck!
FAQ
How do Canada’s recent immigration changes affect immigrant workers?
Canada seeks to reduce immigration and only attract skilled workers in priority economic sectors. So, only highly skilled immigrant workers in the target sectors have a higher chance of successful visa applications.
What sectors or areas is the Canadian economy focusing on?
The government is keen on cybersecurity, clean tech and AI in the technology sector, service-related jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector and a number of jobs in the agriculture sector. Canada also needs skilled tradespeople and high-level architects and engineers in the construction sector, and healthcare-sector professionals who are also familiar with tech and legal issues.