Immigration Case Study - Canada

Question 1

Canada key characteristics

Answer 1

• High income country
• 2013, had a GDP per capita of $44,843
• GDP growth rate of 2.5%
• HDI of 0.902
• Total population = 35.1 million

Question 2

New immigration policy

Answer 2

• Aimed at country’s long term requirements for engineers, IT specialists and health care workers
• Potential migrants ranked on 1200-point system which enables young, highly skilled immigrants to be fast-tracked
• Every effort is made to employ a Canadian citizen first, but half the necessary points can be awarded to migrant applicants with a permanent job offer from an employer, especially if the employer is located in one of the provincial employment schemes away from the big cities of Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal
• Applicants in their 20s receive maximum points for age and graduates are also favoured