After a long pause, Canadian immigration minister Sean Fraser announced that two of the most popular immigration streams; Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Express Entry draws will resume by early July.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada put a pause on Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) draws as of December 2020.
The Canadian government continued to pause these draws as the immigration application backlog grew. As of September 2021, IRCC paused all Federal High Skilled Worker draws (including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program).
In a January 2022 teleconference, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser confirmed the pause would continue as IRCC worked at reducing the backlog. To help reduce the backlog in time to resume draws this spring, Canada has allocated significant funds in the federal budget to speed up immigration application processing.
On April 22nd, 2022, Sean Fraser announced various measures to address Canada’s labour shortage. Minister Fraser’s announcement centred largely on the economic need for immigration as Canada recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to Canada’s high demand for skilled workers, the government is implementing measures to help attract and retain foreign talent.
Since pausing Federal High Skilled Worker (FHS – including CEC, FSW, and FST) draws in September 2021, IRCC has cut processing inventory in more than half. The inventory will be even further reduced by July 2022. This will allow IRCC to process most of these applications within the 6-month service standard.
