Although many jobs are filled by Canadians, shortages in the labor market persist. Which is why most people arriving to Canada go through the economic immigration process. As a matter of example, this economic immigration represented 58% of the 321,035 permanent residents admitted to Canada in 2018. Canada strives to ensure that applicants with a high human capital meeting the current economic needs have the opportunity to apply for residency under a right and fair system.

Different programs are accessible to people who wish to settle in Canada as part of the economic immigration. The most popular of those programs are the ones listed below. Overall, two main systems are widely used being the Express Entry giving access to federal programs, and the ARRIMA system, which is more adapted for Quebec programs.

People wishing to apply for permanent residency as part of different categories being skilled workers (federal), skilled trades (federal), Canadian Experience Class, or some branches of the provincial nominee program can apply through the Express Entry selection process. It is a system enabling the Canadian government to manage the received applications effectively and select the most promising profiles most likely to succeed in Canada. This fully electronic process involves the federal government, provincial governments, and Canadian employers. Implemented since the January 1st 2015, it aims at being fairer compared to the previous system which consisted of processing permanent residency applications on a first come first serve basis.

Applicants who meet the minimum requirements are shortlisted and awarded a number of points varying depending on their profile information which is reviewed and ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Applicants with the highest scores are invited to apply for permanent residency online following regular invitation rounds.

This system is used by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to select candidates to immigration through the four following programs:

For those who wish to be admitted as permanent residents in the economic immigration category for Quebec, the selection decision is made by the province of Quebec itself for skilled workers. This allows the province to apply its own standards and processes, in addition to ensuring that it selects the candidates that it considers as most likely to settle and integrate well. However, those selected by Quebec still have to meet specific requirements established by Canada such as the eligibility requirements.

People who wish to immigrate to Quebec under the Regular Skilled Worker Program  must go through ARRIMA, which is a system similar to the Express Entry for federal programs. This interest-based management system of immigration applications relies on three steps : The applicants’ declaration of interest via the filling of an online form; the ministry’s invitation of people who meet specific criteria as well as the needs of the labor market in the various regions of Quebec; the evaluation of requests according to the selection grid used.