Labour shortages persist in both Canada and the United States. One nation is responding by ramping up immigration levels.
In the global race to attract skilled workers, Canada and the United States are taking distinct approaches to address labor shortages, particularly in sectors like healthcare and technology.
Canada's Immigration Strategy
Canada's immigration policy is explicitly pro-immigration and highly structured to attract skilled workers. With a focus on retaining talents, the country plans to admit around 500,000 new permanent residents annually starting 2025. Programs like Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs target skilled workers with relevant experience, education, and language proficiency.
Immigrants currently make up about 22% of Canada's population, indicating the country's reliance on immigration to support its workforce. Notably, Canada is facing a shortage of registered nurses, with University Health Network in Toronto being 400 to 500 registered nurses short. To address this, the university has started a program to bring in more globally informed registered nurses and help them obtain the additional training they need in Canada.
The United States' Approach
While the U.S. has a larger immigrant population overall, its pathways for skilled immigrants can be more complex and restrictive. The U.S. admits a significant number of Canadian-born skilled workers, especially in technology and engineering, through labour certification and employer sponsorship. However, the number of Canadians pursuing permanent U.S. employment has declined somewhat, reflecting tightening competition for global talent and perhaps more stringent visa processes.
The U.S. labor market relies heavily on employer-sponsored visas, which can be slower and more uncertain than Canada’s point-based immigration system. The Ranch Labor Force Modernization Act, a bill aimed at increasing the number of foreign farm workers, failed to pass in the last session of the U.S. Congress. This highlights the challenges in addressing labor shortages in sectors like agriculture, where the lack of workers could lead to rising food costs for American families, according to Rebecca Shi, head of the pro-immigration advocacy group American Migration Business Union.
| Aspect | Canada | United States | |------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | Immigration approach | Pro-immigration, points-based system (Express Entry, PNP) | Employer-sponsored visas, labor certification processes | | Target sectors | Healthcare, technology, skilled workers broadly | Technology, engineering, healthcare (via employer demand) | | Annual immigration targets | ~485,000 to 500,000 permanent residents (2024-2026) | Not fixed, but high overall immigrant population | | Population impact | Immigrants = 22% of population | Immigrants = 15.4% of population (as of 2022) | | Skilled worker retention | Active retention efforts and streamlined pathways | Declining skilled Canadian immigrant flows | | Median wage offers (tech sector) | Not specified | $137,000 USD median wage offer for Canadian skilled workers |
In summary, Canada uses an explicitly skills and labor market-driven immigration policy with a strong emphasis on retaining talents in healthcare and technology through clear permanent residency pathways. On the other hand, the U.S. relies more on employer sponsorship with some recent declines in skilled immigrant inflows, reflecting a more restrictive and competitive environment for addressing labor shortages in these sectors.
Both countries continue to grapple with the complexities of immigration policy, with Canada focusing on opening more pathways for refugees and low-skilled workers, as well as attracting highly educated employees in sectors like healthcare and technology. In contrast, the U.S. has not had a major overhaul of its legal immigration system since 1990, while Canada has focused on building flexibility and employment rewards into its immigration system.
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