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.
Canada’s new immigration plan: Who wins, and who is losing out (Toronto Star)
On November 4, the federal government tabled its 2025 Canada Strong Budget alongside the Immigration Levels Plan for 2026–2028. Key highlights include:
Some immigration programs will see notable gains:
Launched in 2018, the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) is an initiative that blends economic and humanitarian objectives to create a new immigration pathway. It enables skilled refugees and displaced individuals to work and settle in Canada permanently through various economic programs—offering employers access to a new, often overlooked talent pool to help address labour shortages. To date, 970 individuals have arrived in Canada through the EMPP. The program was initially successful, thanks to its commitment to processing applications within six months or less. However, this report highlights a troubling shift: Canada is no longer meeting that standard. Average processing times have stretched to 12 months or more, with some cases reportedly taking up to 54 months.
As a result, many individuals and their families remain in limbo—facing precarious, unsafe conditions that jeopardize their security, livelihoods, mental health, and trust in the Canadian system. This growing backlog is not only affecting lives but also undermining the program’s potential to support businesses and contribute to the Canadian economy at a critical time. Course correction is urgently needed and the EMPP must return to its original promise of timely, efficient processing to fulfill its humanitarian and economic goals.
Ottawa pressed to grant EI to foreign workers affected by Hurricane Melissa (Globe and Mail)
Advocates for migrant rights in Canada are urging the federal government to grant temporary work permits and Employment Insurance (EI) access to agricultural workers from Jamaica affected by Hurricane Melissa. The hurricane has caused severe destruction and devastated communities across the country, hitting at a time when many migrant workers are just returning home from farming seasons in Canada. Under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) and the agricultural stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, thousands of Jamaicans come to Canada each year to support the farming and greenhouse workforce. Although SAWP workers often participate in the program for years under closed work permits, they contribute to EI but cannot access benefits when out of work.
Advocates are calling on the government to allow affected workers to return to Canada and continue working if they choose, and to expedite EI access so farm workers can collect benefits regardless of work permit status. They emphasize that despite years of contributions, SAWP workers have no clear pathway to permanent residency, even though they pay into a benefits system they cannot access. Finally, advocates point to a precedent: in summer 2024, the federal government enhanced EI access for workers impacted by natural disasters, and they hope similar measures will provide economic relief for SAWP workers in this time of need.
FURTHER READING
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Please take this short survey to help improve the KM4S web site. The survey is anonymous. Thank you for your feedback! (click on the screen anywhere (or on the x in the top right corner) to remove this pop-up)