With the Canadian government’s introduction of a Housing Action Plan in the November 21st Fall Economic Statement, existing federal immigration programs are being reaffirmed to address labour shortages in residential construction trade occupations. However, further action and tweaking of these plans is needed, according to the Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT) and the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).
The SBOT endorses the recent work from BCREA, the Canadian Real Estate Association, and the Ontario Real Estate Association, which jointly commissioned the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) to study the shortcomings of Canada’s immigration policies related to trades necessary to expand housing supply. Residential construction labour shortages could be much better addressed if immigration numbers were more closely tied to skilled trades – something the government’s plan aims to address.
“With Surrey as a long-standing popular newcomer destination, these planned changes to immigration programs are encouraging,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “We applaud the Federal Government’s intent to expand the supply of workers with experience in residential construction trade occupations but urge policymakers to take a second look to tie the supply of workers with the demand of the construction industry.”
The government’s solution to prioritize construction workers for permanent residency solely hinges on the new Category-Based Selection (CBS) process to expedite entry for permanent residency applicants with specific trade skills. Despite this program’s utility, it excludes applicants with experience as construction trades helpers and labourers, which is one of the top two residential construction occupations most in need of workers. Without adequate intervention, CBoC forecasts that demand for workers in this occupation will continue to outstrip supply. A small-scale program to recruit construction trades helpers and labourers would significantly decrease residential construction labour shortages.
In addition to the CBS program, the Federal Government launched a pilot program in 2019 that offers permanent residence to out-of-status construction workers in specific occupations, supporting worker retention in construction. These two programs represent potentially important developments for residential construction. However, if immigrants are not employed in the occupation of their expertise, this undermines the goal of selecting immigrants with experience in those occupations.
The government should closely monitor both programs to determine whether immigrants work in their intended occupation, and regularly evaluate and modify these programs as demands change to inform future workforce solutions.
Additionally, we support the Federal Government’s intention to improve foreign credential recognition through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program. However, the hurdles for credential recognition for construction managers, which is the occupation in residential construction with the third-highest need for workers, remain high. The Federal Government should ensure improvements to foreign credential recognition adequately support the construction manager occupation.
–30–
