Ontario’s Minister of Labor announced that engineering graduates outside of Canada no longer need Canadian work experience to obtain a license in Ontario and called this move a “game changer”.
The influx of qualified immigrant engineers will help fill about 7,000 vacant jobs in Ontario, Labor Minister Monte McNaughton announced.
“I hear every day that the biggest obstacle they have for high-income immigrants is that they have to have work experience in Canada,” he said at a news conference at a construction site in Toronto.
“This move is a fundamental change that will help thousands of qualified immigrant engineers pursue their dreams for years to come.”
This law covers more than 30 jobs including architects, electrical engineers, etc.
But it does not include fields related to health care.
In Ontario, the minister said, 300,000 jobs are unfilled and only a quarter of internationally trained immigrants are working in the professions they studied.
“It doesn’t take a math major to figure out that these numbers don’t add up,” he said.
Focus on merit rather than geography
Professional Engineers Ontario says up to 60 percent of license applicants they review each year are internationally trained.
Vice President Christopher Shaheen said the change, which took effect last week, moves the regulator toward a model that focuses on merit rather than geography.
“We continue to serve the public interest by ensuring that all licensed professional engineers meet rigorous qualifications and that only qualified, competent and ethical people practice engineering,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.
McNaughton said he expects regulators under Ontario’s law to preemptively drop any existing Canadian qualifications before the end-of-year deadline.
StatsCan says Canada is not doing enough with its highly educated immigrants
Sarah Azalia, executive director of Newcomer Women’s Services of Toronto, hailed the change as a “huge victory” for those advocating for the elimination of unfair practices against internationally trained professionals.
“We look forward to seeing other regulatory bodies continue to work to remove these Canadian experience requirements,” he said.
In 2019, engineers were the fourth largest profession in Ontario with 85,649 members and 24,258 internationally trained members registered in the profession, the provincial government said.
