Canada — A new pathway to Canadian permanent residency for construction workers in and outside the country has opened up to support its construction industry.

The changes intend to reserve immigration spaces for up to 6,000 undocumented construction workers within Canada and allow qualified temporary foreign workers to study in apprenticeship programs without requiring a study permit.

The changes which became effective from March 7, 2025, were announced by the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Marc Miller. "The federal government will "allow qualified foreign workers who register for apprenticeships to study without a permit," the statement read.

According to the minister, up to 14,000 foreign national construction workers may be admitted to Canada with this new change as Canada's construction sector has faced persistent labor shortages amid a housing supply shortage, hampering the country's ability to build new homes and aggravating domestic affordability concerns. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimated that the country would need to build an additional 6 million homes by 2030 to restore housing affordability.

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Canadian Express Entry

Construction occupations were also recently added as a priority category for invitations to apply (ITAs) under the Express Entry system on February 27, 2025. The immigration department also added 19 new occupations to the category, expanding it significantly.

This reflects the department’s intention to invite newcomers who can aid Canada’s construction and other sectors for permanent residence. Among the added occupations were several construction occupations including:

— Construction estimators;

— Bricklayers;

— Roofers and shingles;

— Floor covering installers; and

— Painters and decorators (except interior decorators).

To learn if you are eligible and get a full account of which occupations are now included in Express Entry’s trade category, visit our e-services webpage.

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New Categories Added to Express Entry

Following the recent changes to the Express Entry system, the IRCC also added a new "Education" category with 5 listed occupations. This means that foreign workers in the education sector who wish to relocate to Canada via the Express Entry can now do so.

IRCC has also added several social services occupations to the healthcare category and removed the transport category. A few new categories listed on IRCC’s website are:

— French-language proficiency;

— Healthcare and Social service occupations;

— Agriculture and agri-food occupations;

— Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations;

— Trades occupations; and

— Education occupations.

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While there have been major changes to allow more foreign workers to migrate to Canada, these categories will be prioritized for invitations to apply (ITA) within the Express Entry system:

— French-language proficiency;

— Healthcare and Social service occupations;

— Trades occupations; and

— Education occupations.

These aren’t the only changes that have been made to the category-based selection. To learn if you are eligible and get a full account of which occupations are now included in Express Entry’s trade category, visit our e-services webpage.

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