The Canadian Point System and Its Discontents: Integration of Immigrants into the Labour Market into the 21st Century

Elsa Lopez

doi:10.32920/ryerson.14660280

Abstract

This paper offers a historical review of the evolution of the point system. It is crucial to understand the past in order to understand immigrants' current economic performance. Canada's immigration policy has evolved over time by adjusting to the economic, social and political needs of each specific period. However, the current immigration policy, in the form of the point system, is not flexible in meeting the needs of the Canadian labour market. The point system currently requires immigrants to have a high level of education and proficiency in English or French. However, research indicates that immigrans are not doing as well as expected financially. This paper will analyze and seek answers to the following research questions: Does the point system reflect the needs of the labour market and is it an effective tool for measuring the needs of the Canadian nation? The theoretical frameworks that will be used are human capital theory and labour market segmentation theory. This paper will be focusing on the relationship between Canadian immigration policy and the needs of the labour market.

Highlights

The purpose ofthis paper is to provide an analysis ofthe Canadian point system horn an economic perspective
It is important to study this topic due to the simple fact that the Canadian economy relies heavily on labour to generate funds and because a lack of hill participation by these immigrants has a negative effect on the economy, “As Canada’s experience shows, the point system does a goodjob of screening the immigrant pool, and generates a more skilled immigrant flow than a system that does not use any skill filters” (Bogas, 1999, p. 193)
The point system penalizes blue-collar workers as they are often not qualified to apply under the current immigration policy, primarily because there is no need to be fluent in English or French or have a university degree for many skilled trades

Summary

Introduction

The purpose ofthis paper is to provide an analysis ofthe Canadian point system horn an economic perspective. Canada has the point system in place to select immigrants based on their human capital and their potential labour market success (Wanner, 2003).

Results

Conclusion