Canada brings in new opportunities for both foreign workers seeking to work in Canada and for employers addressing their labor needs.

Canada said it will extend the scope of work permits granted to temporary international workers from next year to allow spouses of permit holders to work in the country from next year.

The Canadian government has announced that from January 2023 it will extend work permits to family members of all temporary foreign workers. This temporary two-year measure will be introduced in a phased manner.

“Starting in January 2023, through a temporary two-year measure, Canada will expand eligibility to work in Canada to spouses and working-age children through a phased approach for workers at all skill levels. This would include families of workers in health care, trades, and hospitality,” Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department said in a statement.”

Sean Fraser, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC), on Friday, announced that his department is extending work permits to family members of temporary foreign workers from 2023. The rule is being introduced as a 2 year temporary measure, said IRCC.

The North American nation hopes to ease the labor crunch that the Canadian economy is witnessing currently. Prior to this announcement, spouses were only eligible for a work permit if the principal applicant was working in a high skill occupation.

“This temporary measure aims to improve the emotional well-being, physical health and financial stability of workers by keeping families together. As a result, it is expected that the worker will better integrate into their overall work environment and community,” the IRCC said in a statement.

As per Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department, with this new approach, over 200,000 foreign workers could begin working in Canada offering a greater opportunity for both foreign workers seeking to work in Canada and for employers addressing their labor needs.

Canada will implement the programme in three phases beginning with allowing visa norms relaxations for family members of high-income earners, and will later expand it to include low-income temporary workers.

In phase 1, family members of workers coming to Canada through the high-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program will be able to apply for an open work permit.

In phase 2, the rule will be relaxed to allow family members of workers from the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to work in Canada.

Phase 3 will include consultation with agricultural partners and stakeholders to assess operational feasibility for expanding the measure to family members of agricultural workers.

Canada has issued over 645,000 work permits between January and October 2022 nearly 4 times more than the 163,000 issued over the same period in 2021.