Sask. reboots foreign worker nominee program with focus on health care, ag, trades

The province is rebooting its Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program with stricter criteria, ending a five-week pause in applications that started after Ottawa slashed the number of available spots for foreign workers in the province.

The nominee program is meant to address labour shortages by having immigrants fill vacant positions.

The rebooted program moves nominees in three sectors to the front of the line and reworks rules to deal with the federal government's new, lower nominee allocations for provinces, according to a news release from the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training.

The province said it is prioritizing applications from workers in health care, agriculture and skilled trades. 

This year, the federal government told most provinces and territories they must cut their allotted spaces for economic immigration programs by half.

Saskatchewan's allocation for 2025 is 3,625 — the lowest level since 2009, the province said. The federal government also now requires that 75 per cent of all nominees are already living in Canada as temporary residents.

Under the Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program, or SINP, employers are allowed to hire foreign nationals if they're able to prove they can't find anyone else in the province to fill a position.

Once a business is qualified, they are provided with a job approval form allowing them to hire a foreign national via SINP.

That person must then work full-time for that employer for at least six months to qualify for the program and stay in the country.

Employers may struggle to fill jobs: consultant

A Regina-area immigration consultant is glad the provincial program is being restarted, but he thinks a cap on workers in certain sectors will leave some employers scrambling to fill jobs.

"A lot of restaurants and trucking companies rely heavily on foreign nationals, for drivers or cook positions," said Rajdeep Singh, director of Pax Immigration Consultant Inc., based in Emerald Park.

 "They will definitely be struggling to meet their labour needs."

Singh said his phone rang all morning after the province's announcement. Many of those callers asked about how the new criteria affects their immigration situation.

"They will not have a way for their permanent residency now, maybe due to this cap," Singh said.

"It's a panic at this point…What would be [a business's] alternative sources to sustain their businesses so they don't suffer? And workers who are affected, would they be moving to other provinces to find a way to permanent residency?"

Ottawa's new immigration plan for 2025-27 cut immigration levels to provide "well-managed, sustainable growth" in the face of national challenges around housing, infrastructure and social service, an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson said last month.

More than 90 per cent of the province's economic immigration happens through the Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program, according to the Immigration and Career Training ministry.

The province said it's "disappointed with the federal government's decision" to slash nominee allotments by 50 per cent, but said the changes to the provincial program announced Thursday "will ensure that our reduced number of nominations is used effectively and in a way that prioritizes building our economy," Immigration and Career Training Minister Jim Reiter said in the news release.

Under the new rules for Saskatchewan's nominee program, the province will prioritize overseas candidates working in health care, agriculture and trades.

For all other jobs, applicants must already be temporary Canadian residents on a valid visa.

Other new rules include:

• A 25 per cent cap on nominations in the hospitality, food services, retail trade and trucking sectors.
• No longer accepting nominations for spas, salons and pet care services (veterinarians remain eligible).
• Closing the categories for entrepreneur, international graduate entrepreneur and farmer owner/operator.

The retooled provincial program means the province will return applications for the "Saskatchewan express entry" and "occupations in demand" subcategories. Candidates who get their applications returned can request a fee refund.

The province updated the program's website with the new changes and scheduled information sessions for prospective applicants and employers for next week.

NDP immigration critic Noor Burki said the province should have retooled the provincial program without pausing applications.

"The Sask. Party should never have thrown our local businesses into a panic in the first place," the Opposition MLA told reporters at the legislature.

"The decision to abruptly pause the program without any consultation has been incredibly stressful… Small businesses need certainty and stability, especially when we are in the middle of a trade war."

Burki said the province should lobby Ottawa to increase the number of nominee slots allocated to Saskatchewan.