Editors Pick

Highlights: Canada increases federal wage to $17.75 per hour from April 2025

• From April 1, 2025, Canada's federal minimum wage has increased by $17.75 per hour.
• This impact will be eligible for sectors like banking and transportation and interprovincial transportation.
• A 2.4% hike would align with the annual Consumer Price Index and is part of on-going efforts.
• The wage revision aims to foster income stability and a fairer economy.
   

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Canada increase the federal minimum wage with a hike of 2.4%

Canada's government has increased the federal minimum wage by 2.4% per hour since April 1, 2025. The hike of 2.4% aligns with the annual Consumer Price Index and is part of on-going efforts to keep earning in federally regulated private sectors. This increase will affect the payroll of employees in sectors regulated at the federal level, including industries such as banking, telecommunication, and interprovincial transportation. Employers must update the payrolls to reflect the new rate. Applicants must pay a higher if the provincial or territorial minimum wage is higher than the federal rate.
 

The Canadian government increased the wage revision approach to stability for workers in part-time, temporary, and low-wage roles. The federal minimum wage brings stability and certainty to Canadian workers and businesses alike, helping to reduce income inequality across the board.
 

Consumer Price Index recalculation

Since April 1, 2021, the federal minimum wage has been recalculated yearly based on the average Consumer Price Index for the previous year. The rate is rounded off to $0.05. Below are the annual increases in the federal minimum wage since 2021:
 

• 2021: $15.00
• 2022: $15.55
• 2023: $16.65
• 2024: $17.30
• 2025: $17.75
   

In addition to adjusting wages, it planned for better employee well-being, including improved job protections and expanded access to benefits related to health, parental leave, work-life balance, and absence.
 

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Highlights: Rachel Bendayan, the new immigration Minister Rachel Bendayan

• Rachel Bendayan, a member of parliament from Outremont, Quebec, is the new minister of immigration.
• Rachel Bendayan, the new immigration minister of Canada, will head after Marc Millar.
• Prime Minister Marc Caney will prioritize providing PR status to temporary residents in Canada.
• The new cabinet reshuffle might impact PR, work, and study permit rules.
   

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Canada's new Immigration Minister

Minister Bendayan has held several roles in Canadian politics, including serving as the country's previous Minister of official language. Additionally, Minister Bendayan previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the:
 

• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
• Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister
• Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade
   

Changes in Immigration Policy under Prime Minister Mark Carney

 Canada’s immigration policy is now being taken care of by the new Prime Minister and Immigration Minister. Canadian Ministers (including the Immigration minister) are given Mandate Letters from the Prime Minister, dealing with the objectives each minister must achieve and challenge the address role.
 

The New changes that will be introduced:

• Capping Immigration to a sustainable pre-pandemic trend
• Prioritizing temporary residents of Canada for Permanent residence
• Reining in the number of temporary foreign workers
   

Importance of the Immigration Portfolio

Immigration is a significant issue in Canadian society, with newcomers addressing the concerns of Canada’s labor market and demography. At his time, Minister Marc stated that Immigration played an essential role in allowing Canada to avoid an economic decline in 2023. The Immigration file is such an important focus that the former Prime Minister already announced the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan himself.
 

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Highlights: Canada simplifies the post-grad work visa rules with the removal of the field-of-study requirement

• IRCC has revised the field-of-study requirement for international students in the degree program to apply for PGWP.
• International students who want to apply for PGWP are no longer required to meet the study requirement.
• International students from Canadian bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are eligible for PGWP if they meet the language requirements.
• This change regulates colleges with universities and helps to recruit international students.
   

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IRCC revised the study requirement to apply for Post Graduate work permit

Canada has revised the study requirement to apply for a Post-Graduate work permit so that international students in college or degree programs do not have to meet the field of study requirement. This particular change was introduced for Canadian colleges but not universities, and it was part of an effort by the Canadian government to perform scrutiny on the International education sector.
 

IRCC clarifies that international students graduating from all Canadian Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs must meet the language requirement to apply for PGWP. Canadian colleges have traditionally enrolled about twice as many International students in business programs as universities. Canadian universities are well-known for highly skilled graduating students with specialized skills needed in the Canadian economy across business and other sectors.
 

Removing the field-of-study requirement for Canadian colleges helps and encourages colleges to recruit more International students. However, it will take some time for colleges to regain their position in the market.
 

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Highlights: New Brunswick has introduced two new enhanced PNP pathways to apply for Canada PR

• New Brunswick has opened two new eligible pathways for newcomers from March 5, 2025.
• The NBPNP opened application intakes for two pathways: The Employment in New Brunswick program and the New Brunswick Interest Pathway.
• Newcomers can submit EOI under the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee program two pathways.
• New Brunswick Provincial Nominee program's new pathways have also updated eligibility criteria to apply under these new pathways.
   

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Eligibility Criteria to receive an ITA under the new NBPNP streams

Both the Express Entry streams have different criteria for issuing ITA for provincial nominations. NBPNP has also noted that candidates who will fulfill the specific eligibility criteria for each stream may receive an ITA. Below are the requirements for each stream:
 

For Employment in New Brunswick

• Living in New Brunswick and working full-time for a New Brunswick employer for the past 12 months
   

For New Brunswick Interests

• Have received an LOI and ImmigrationNB in the federal Express Entry Profile
• Have at least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent part-time work experience within the past 10 years
   

Candidates of both streams must also meet the following criteria:

• Valid Express Entry Profile
• English or French language proficiency equivalent to at least CLB/NCLC* level 7 in all four language abilities
• Meet the minimum proof of funds requirement.
• Intention to live and work in New Brunswick permanently
• A minimum score of 67 points on the New Brunswick Express Entry selection Grid
• Employment under both pathways must be a position under the Occupation Classification (NOC) Training Education Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) level 0, 1, 2, or 3.
   

Note: NBPNP does not guarantee that candidates who meet all the eligibility criteria under these pathways will receive an ITA for Provincial Nomination.
 

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Occupations that are excluded from the NBPNP list

New Brunswick will not consider nominating certain candidates from the following occupations which are stated below:

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Highlights: Employment in Canada was up by 387,000 in Feb 2025

• According to the Labor Force Survey, there was an increase in employment in Canada in February.
• Employment in Canada was up by 387,000 in February 2025.
• Canada's Employment increased in wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing.
• On a year-over-year basis, the average hourly wage among the employees rose by 3.8% in February.
   

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Employment rate in Canada

As per the recent Canadian Labor Force Report, Employment in Canada was steady in February following a three-month consecutive increase, totaling 211,000 in November, December, and January. The employment rate held steady at 61.1%, with an unemployment rate of 6.6%. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 387,000 (+1.9%) in February. The employment rate among core-aged women was up by 27,000 and fell among women aged 55 to 15,000.
 

Employment increased among core-aged men and women

In February, employment increased by 27,000 (+0.4%) among women in the core-aged group (25 to 54 years old), building an increase in January. The employment rate among women steadily increased by 80.5% in February and was up by 0.4 percentage points. For core-aged men, employment changed little in February following three consecutive months of increases totalling 90,000 (+1.3%) in November, December, and January.
 

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Employment gains in Canada in different industries

The employment increase rate was noticed in the following industries:   

Employment rise in different Canadian provinces

In February, all provinces except Nova Scotia recorded little employment change. On a year-over-year basis, the employment in Quebec was up by 81,000 (+1.8%). Whereas in Ontario, employment was a little unchanged, with gains up by 17,000 with an increase of (0.2%).
 

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