CIMM – Talent Attraction – March 23, 2026

Key Messages

• Canada is attracting the best talent in the world to grow the economy while restoring balance and control to rebuild Canadians’ trust in the immigration system.
• This is a targeted approach. It is being done within the space of the Levels Plan.
• Our International Talent Attraction Strategy focuses on high-skilled workers in priority sectors facing ongoing labour shortages as a complement to our domestic workforce.
• It will also attract talent to support Canada’s innovative, emerging and high-growth industries, helping boost productivity and strengthen economic growth and resilience.

Talent Attraction Strategy

• In response to the mandate commitment to attract the best talent in the world while keeping overall immigration rates at sustainable levels, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) worked with other government departments on actions to ensure that Canada continues to attract the highly skilled international talent that is needed to grow the economy.
• The Strategy comprises a series of initiatives to prioritize, target, attract and retain top international talent in Canada. These are people with the skills, education and experience that Canada’s labour market needs, and will complement existing labour force and workforce development initiatives.
• Through the Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative, the Government of Canada will invest up to $1.7B over 12 years to attract and support more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers. Recruitment will target individuals who are advancing world-leading research in critical fields that will deliver direct economic, societal and health benefits for Canadians.
• In addition to providing an expedited and seamless immigration process for these researchers, IRCC is also advancing a number of immigration initiatives, including:
  • The alignment of permanent residency pathways to retain top talent who enter Canada as temporary workers.
  • Global skills missions to connect employers in priority industries with the top talent that they need.
  • Targeted outreach and engagement to position Canada as a top destination for global talent by highlighting professional opportunities and immigration pathways in priority sectors.
  • New 2026 Express Entry categories to prioritize top talent, including physicians, senior managers, researchers, transport occupations and skilled military recruits, while renewing existing categories for in-demand talent in the skilled trades, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, education, and healthcare sectors.
  • Attracting international Doctoral (PhD) students by offering expedited 14-day processing to eligible applicants, and exempting graduate students who are enrolling at a public designated learning institution from having to submit a provincial or territorial attestation letter.
• The Strategy positions immigration to best support the government’s main priorities, including building homes and infrastructure, supporting economic growth, productivity and innovation, and ensuring access to publicly funded healthcare.
• Talent attraction efforts will not increase the overall volume of temporary and permanent residents entering Canada. The Talent Attraction Strategy is focused on maximizing the value of each individual Levels space by targeting the top talent that Canada needs to fill current and projected labour market gaps in priority industries, and to create innovation in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence.

Settlement Services/Foreign Credential Recognition

• Credential recognition of foreign education or experience remains a barrier for internationally trained professionals arriving in Canada.
• Our government is actively working with the provinces and territories to make credential recognition fairer, faster, and more transparent, helping qualified foreign-trained professionals contribute more quickly to Canada’s workforce, including in fields facing labour shortages, such as health care and construction.