World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. This content has been created by WES and is reproduced here with their permission, in partnership.
Immigrant nurses in Canada: Alignment between intentions and employment outcomes (Stats Canada)
Using data from the 2021 Census, this report examines the employment outcomes of immigrant nurses in Canada. Among immigrants who worked as nurses in 2021, only 35% had intended to pursue nursing at the time of their arrival. Surprisingly, the remaining 65% had not initially planned to enter the profession but became nurses after obtaining permanent residency. Prior Canadian work or study experience appeared to be a contributing factor in their transition into nursing.
Immigrants from Asia—who made up 84% of those intending to work as nurses—had significantly lower employment rates in nursing compared to immigrants from the Caribbean, Central and South America, the United States, and Europe. While most immigrant nurses arrived through the economic immigration stream, a notable number of spouses, dependants, and refugees also entered the profession, despite initially intending to work in other sectors.
The findings of this report highlight that a substantial portion of immigrant nurses working in Canada in 2021 had not originally planned to pursue nursing careers upon arrival. This underscores the importance of enhancing and expanding resources, policies, and programs that support immigrant integration into this high-demand sector.
Labour market outcomes of the Black populations in Canada, 2020 to 2025 (Stats Canada)
The Black population in Canada is the second-largest racialized group in the labour force, representing 5.4% and totaling 1.2 million people as of August 2025. Of this population, 69.1% are within the core working ages of 25 to 54 years old. In 2021, 39.1% of Black immigrants of core working age in Canada’s labour force were born in Africa, with just over half of them arriving between 2011 and 2021. These African-born Black immigrants were highly educated, with 46.1% holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, many were overqualified for their jobs—27.5% were employed in positions requiring no more than a high school diploma.
In further examination of labour market outcomes by gender, the results varied: Black women had lower overall outcomes than Black men, although second-generation Black women had a slightly higher employment rate (72.9% vs. 72%) and a lower unemployment rate (12.6% vs. 14.3%) compared to their male counterparts. Black non-permanent residents, a diverse group including asylum claimants and work permit holders, had a high employment rate of 76.2%. Notably, they had the highest proportion of degree holders (49.5%) and were more likely to be well-matched to their jobs (50.8%) than other Black populations in the study.
The new, steep price for this U.S. visa could be a blessing for Canadian tech (CBC News)
Recent changes to the H-1B visa program—a key immigration pathway for global talent in the U.S.—are prompting significant shifts in hiring strategies. As of September 21, employers must now pay a steep $100,000 fee to sponsor an H-1B visa holder, a dramatic increase from the previous $2,000–$5,000 range. While the visa is not exclusive to the tech sector, approximately 60% of H-1B holders have historically worked in computer-related occupations.
Canada is well positioned to benefit from this policy shift. Individuals who had planned to immigrate or work in the U.S. may now pivot toward opportunities in Canada. For small and medium-sized businesses, the new fee structure could make U.S. hiring cost-prohibitive, prompting them to consider opening Canadian offices to stay within the same region or time zone as their American counterparts. Other organizations may explore alternative pathways, such as the TN visa, which allows Canadian and Mexican professionals to work temporarily in the U.S. While Canada stands to gain from these changes, the tech sector must also invest in strengthening its own ecosystem. This includes securing capital, scaling up operations, and creating an environment that attracts and retains top global talent right now and in the future.
Due to a significant reduction in Canada’s immigration targets, the number of post-graduate work permits (PGWPs) issued in 2025 is expected to decline by 30%. Recent changes to the PGWP program include stricter language proficiency requirements, new restrictions for graduates of joint public-private college programs, and updated field-of-study criteria for non-degree programs.
As a result, the profile of PGWP holders has shifted compared to previous years. Data from January to June 2025 show that 65% of PGWPs were issued to college graduates, 9% to university undergraduates, and 17% to postgraduate students. Business and management programs have emerged as the leading field of study, accounting for approximately 44% of international graduates receiving PGWPs. In terms of countries of origin, the top sources remain India (43,803), China (4,129), Nigeria (3,831), and the Philippines (3,412).
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