Canadian Immigration News

Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced earlier this week that Canada's new recruitment model for economic immigration will be called "Express Entry". This new model is set to launch in January 2015.

As of April 1, 2014, the CELPIP-G test will no longer be used as a test to prove English language proficiency. It will be replaced by the "CELPIP-General (CELPIP-G 2014)" test. After April 1, 2014, individuals wishing to use CELPIP results to prove English language proficiency must submit scores from a CELPIP-G 2014 test.

Canada is the most socially progressive country in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh most progressive overall, according to a recent study. The study, which was created by the US-based group Social Progress Imperative, measured a number of factors to rank countries by the wellbeing of their residents.

The Government of Quebec has announced a number of measures for its Skilled Worker, Investor, and Entrepreneur programs. They are as follows:

Skilled Worker – Between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, a maximum of 6,500 applications will be accepted for review by the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander, visited Hong Kong and mainland China last week. During his time there, he spoke with the South China Morning Post newspaper about the future of the Federal Immigrant Investor Program.

The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration has released further details on its newest immigration stream, called the Regional Labour Market Demand Stream. This stream, which began considering applications on March 6, 2014, has gained attention because applicants do not need a Canadian job offer in order to be eligible.

Chris Alexander, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is currently traveling to Hong Kong and Shanghai. During his trip, he will be promoting options for Chinese businesses, travellers, and students in Canada.

On Thursday, March 13, 2014 Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued a statement encouraging prospective immigration application to use authorized immigration representatives. This statement was issued as part of Fraud Prevention Month, which has been ongoing during the month of March.

A new report from Statistics Canada showed that, in the past year, Alberta was responsible for 87 percent of new jobs created in Canada in the past year. In the past 12 months, a full 82,000 jobs were created, out of a national total of approximately 95,000.

Canada is the number 14 country in which to retire, roundly beating the United States. According to the Global Retirement Index, released by Natixis Global Asset Management, Canada is one of just six non-European countries to make the list of 20 nations. At number 19, the US barely made the list.