Immigration Series: Nova Scotia (Canada) opening its doors for foreign healthcare workers

Nova Scotia, the province of Canada is opening its doors to foreign healthcare workers through Nova Scotia’s Provincial Nominee Program. (Photo: Piron Guillaume via Unsplash)

Nova Scotia, the province of Canada comprising the Nova Scotia peninsula, Cape Breton Island, and over 3,000 smaller islands, is opening its doors to foreign healthcare workers through Nova Scotia’s Provincial Nominee Program (NSNP), a program through which prospective immigrants with the skills and experience targeted by the province may receive a permanent residency (PR).

Called the International Graduates in Demand (IGD), this stream of Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) will make immigration to Nova Scotia a possibility for international students who want to become paramedics and pharmacy technicians.

Immigration to Nova Scotia has tripled over the last 20 years and currently, the province is welcoming over 7,000 new immigrants every year. Now, it is ready to welcome more immigrants to help address economic and labour market needs through PNP and Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) that was launched in 2017.

It may be noted that PNPs – operated in every Canadian province and territory except Quebec and Nunavut – allow local governments to nominate specific immigration candidates (for permanent residence (PR) in their region) who will fill the local labour market gaps.

Job openings: According to Statistics Canada, in the fourth quarter of 2022, job vacancies for health care occupations reached an all-time high (95,800), more than doubling the number of openings from the same quarter in 2019 (40,100). Here are the occupations currently eligible for the IGD PNP stream in Nova Scotia.

• Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates
• Early childhood educators and assistants
• Paramedics and Pharmacy Technicians are now eligible due to the latest expansion of the IGD
• Other healthcare workers in demand include registered nurses, personal support workers and healthcare aides

• Possess a full-time permanent job offer from a Nova Scotia employer in an eligible occupation
• Be between the ages of 21 and 55
• Have completed at least a high school education
• Have completed a course of study at least 30 weeks long (in the last three years). It is important to note that at least half of the qualifying educational program must have been completed in Nova Scotia
• Possess the appropriate certifications required for the job
• Have official language proficiency that equates to a level 5 on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)
• Possess enough money to settle permanently in Nova Scotia

• Upload the required documents and submit a completed application on the government website
• If approved, apply for PR directly with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) within 6 months of receiving your provincial nomination certificate

Predicted job openings until 2031: Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) expects a total of 7.7 million job openings (those due to economic growth plus those due to replacement needs) over the period 2022-2031. About 37 per cent of these openings will be as a result of employment growth (2.8 million), of which 40 per cent will occur during the first 2 years of the projection, as the labour market continues its robust recovery from the pandemic. Another 50 per cent of openings (3.9 million) will be as a result of replacing retiring active workers, while the other 13 per cent (about 1 million workers) will result from other replacing needs (deaths and emigration).

More than half of new immigrants (52.8 per cent) are expected to pursue work in occupations generally requiring postsecondary education or in management positions, according to COPS.

It may be recalled that in February this year, the Government of Canada had announced its proposed investment of close to $200 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding to provinces and territories, to improve health care for Canadians.

These investments, on top of already significant funding, will further help provide Canadians with a health care system that includes:

• access to high-quality family health services when they need them, including in rural and remote areas and for underserved communities;
• a resilient and supported health workforce that provides them high-quality, effective and safe health services;
• access to timely, equitable and quality mental health, substance use and addictions services to support their well-being; and
• access to their own electronic health information.