Key facts
- Business groups urged Carney to allow more immigration to meet Canada's labor needs, according to the report.
- The report said welcoming more migrants carries political risk for Carney but gave no date for the pressure.
- Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced on October 16 up to 100 extra Express Entry points for high-wage job offers.
- The Hub reported that from November 3, 186 occupations were exempt from the labour market impact assessment requirement.
- Economist Pierre Fortin told The Hub he was not optimistic that dropping the assessment would help Canadian wages.
Canadian business groups pressed Prime Minister Mark Carney to allow more immigration to address the country's labor needs, according to a report published November 3, 2026 that did not date the lobbying. The report said the prospect of welcoming more migrants carries political risk for Carney.
A separate report by The Hub, dated October 27, said that from November 3 employers in 186 occupations could back a foreign worker's bid for permanent residency without first proving they could not find a Canadian to do the job. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced on October 16 that Express Entry candidates would earn up to 100 extra points for a job offer in a high-wage occupation, defined as one with median pay of about $74,000 annually or at least 1.3 times that of the overall workforce. A qualifying offer no longer needs a labour market impact assessment, the test in which an employer must show it advertised the job and could not find a Canadian to fill it.
Pierre Fortin, an economics professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, told The Hub he did not like the idea of giving Canadian businesses a free ride on importing foreign labor. He said he was not optimistic about the effect on wages and job prospects for Canadian workers. The Hub also cited Statistics Canada data showing 4.9 unemployed people for every vacancy in jobs requiring a bachelor's degree or higher in the second quarter.