Introduced in June 2017, the Global Talent Stream has allowed Canada to welcome nearly 40,000 newcomers to live there. This stream is a two-year pilot program that assists certain Canadian employers to hire highly-skilled talent from around the world. This allows Canadian employers to advance the hiring of foreign workers to fill specialized occupations when Canadians aren’t available for specific roles.
There Are Two Categories Under the Global Talent Stream:
Category A
High-growth companies that can demonstrate a need to recruit unique specialized talent from abroad fall under Category A. Employers in this category must be referred to the Global Talent Stream by a designated referral partner.
Eligibility
For Category A of the Global Talent Stream, an innovative company must be referred by one of the Stream’s designated referral partners on the basis that the position being requested requires unique and specialized talent to help the firm scale-up and grow.
In order to be eligible for Category A, a designated referral partner must validate that a company meets the following eligibility criteria at the time of each referral to ESDC:
- is operating in Canada
- has a focus on innovation
- has a willingness, and is capable of growing or scaling up
- is seeking to fill a unique and specialized position in the company, and
- has identified a qualified foreign worker for potential hire into that unique and specialized position
For a person to qualify as unique and specialized talent for Category A, the talent is indicated by advanced knowledge of the industry, along with advanced education and at least 5 years of specialized experience in the field. Unique and specialized talent are usually paid a minimum annual salary of at least $80,000 CAD as well.
The list of designated referral partners for the Global Talent Stream includes the following organizations (as of December 2019):
- Accelerate Okanagan
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- BC Tech Association
- Burlington Economic Development Corporation
- Business Development Bank of Canada
- Canadian Economic Development for Quebec Regions
- Cape Breton Partnership
- City of Brampton
- City of Hamilton’s Economic Development Office
- City of Mississauga
- Communitech Corporation
- Council of Canadian Innovators
- Economic Development Winnipeg
- Edmonton Economic Development
- Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
- Genesis (Newfoundland)
- Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service
- Government of Alberta, Alberta Labour and Immigration
- Government of British Columbia, Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology
- Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Education and Training
- Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Business Inc.
- Government of Ontario, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade – Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
- Government of Ontario, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade – Ontario Investment Office
- Government of Prince Edward Island, Island Investment Development Inc.
- Government of Saskatchewan, Ministry of the Economy
- Halifax Partnership
- Tech Manitoba
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada – Accelerated Growth Service
- Invest Ottawa
- Invest in Canada
- Kingston Economic Development Corporation
- Launch Academy
- London Economic Development Corporation
- MaRS Discovery District
- National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)
- Privy Council Office, Special Projects Team
- Regional Municipality of Niagara
- Regional Municipality of York
- Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership
- Toronto Global
- Town of Oakville
- Vancouver Economic Commission
- Venn Innovation
- Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation
- WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation
Category B
In order to apply for Category B of the Global Talent Stream, employers must be seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign talent to fill positions in jobs found on the Global Talent Occupations List.
The Global Talent Occupations List includes:
| National Occupations Classification (NOC) code | Occupation |
| 0213 | Computer and information systems managers |
| 2147 | Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) |
| Sub-set of 2161* | Mathematicians and statisticians* Positions for actuaries or related occupations are excluded from this subset. |
| 2171 | Information systems analysts and consultants |
| 2172 | Database analysts and data administrators |
| 2173 | Software engineers and designers |
| 2174 | Computer programmers and interactive media developers |
| 2175 | Web designers and developers |
| 2281 | Computer network technicians |
| 2283 | Information systems testing technicians |
| Sub-set of 5131** | Producer, technical, creative and artistic director and project manager – Visual effects and video game **The position must require a minimum of 3 years of experience in the visual effects, video game or animation industries in 1 or a combination of the following roles: producer, technical director, creative director, artistic director or project manager, senior coordinator, department manager, with 3 years of job experience in at least 1 or more of the following skills relevant to the visual effects, video game or animation industries: surfacing and look development; character or simulation rigging; matte painting; managing budgets or teams; or technical pipeline development and application for visual effects, video games, or animation production. |
| Sub-set of 5241*** | Digital media designers ***The position must require a minimum of 3 years of job experience in at least 1 of the following digital media design skills: 3D modeling, compositing, paint and roto, layout and match move, digital environment and Matte painting, texture, lighting shading, character effects, effects and simulations, design and scenario, rigging, user interface or user experience, responsive design (for gaming), virtual reality, augmented reality, digital media animation, levels editing for digital media design, software editing for digital media design, pipeline software development or applications relevant for digital media design |
For occupations with wage floors, employers must offer the hourly wage rate at minimum. Annual wage floors are provided for illustrative purposes only.
Labour Market Benefits Plan
Employers seeking to hire skilled workers through the Global Talent Stream must work with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan. This plan summarizes the positive benefits that foreign talent will bring to the Canadian labour market, and activities that the employer will undergo to encourage job creation, skills and training investments.
Category A employers are required to commit to creating jobs for Canadian citizens and permanent residents. This job creation may be direct or indirect.
Category B employers are required to commit to increasing investments in skills and training for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Are You Interested In Canada’s Global Talent Stream?
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Casey
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