Alberta’s Plan for Recovery
On June 29, 2020, Premier Jason Kenney and Minister of Finance Travis Toews announced details on the Alberta plan for economic recovery during the news conference. The plan consists primarily of creating jobs, building infrastructure and diversifying Alberta’s economy.
“Altogether, this plan represents a bold statement of confidence in the future of Alberta. It is based on common sense, not ideology. It balances targeted government spending in areas like job-creating infrastructure with strong incentives for private sector growth, like the accelerated Job Creation Tax Cut and the expanded Red Tape Reduction initiative. It ensures a future for our largest industry – oil and gas – while boosting diversification in key growth sectors, like tech and innovation through the new Innovation Employment Grant, and the Alberta Enterprise Corporation.”
Kenney, Premier
Unemployment Rate
More than 330,000 Albertans lost their jobs in early 2020 due to the pandemic. Consequently, the official unemployment rate is 15.5% but the real unemployment rate is likely closer to 20%. Actually, Premier Kenney speaks of “a real effective unemployment rate of perhaps as high as 25%”.
Job Creation
Alberta’s plan of implementing the Job Creation Tax Cut has been fast-tracked. On July 1, 2020, the corporate income tax rate will drop from 10% to 8%.
“The Job Creation Tax Cut is essential to Alberta’s recovery, ensuring our province has a competitive tax regime for job creators. When Alberta’s corporate income tax rate hits eight per cent, British Columbia’s corporate income tax will be 50 per cent higher at 12 per cent. As employers work to recover from COVID-19 they can be confident that Alberta will be the best place in Canada – by far – to locate, bringing with them jobs and prosperity.”
Travis Toews, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance
Refusal to process LMIA applications
Alberta will identify a vast majority of occupations to be added to the federal refusal to process list. These Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications shall not be processed because of the real unemployment rate being between 20% and 25%. However, some exceptions will be established. For example, advanced meat cutters in meat cutting plants due to long-term skill shortages. The Government of Alberta will address these challenges, particularly, in the agricultural sector, by offering training programs to reduce reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) gradually. In short, the new policy is essentially a suspension of the TFWP in Alberta.
High-wage and low-wage occupations in the province of Alberta
Employment and Social Development Canada
We will not process your application if the position you are looking to fill is included in the list of occupations.
The refusal to process LMIAs for any of the listed occupations for Alberta is in effect until April 30, 2021.
Alberta’s Plan for Immigration
Alberta will reduce the target of Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program nominations by at least one-third (1/3); from 6,250 to a maximum of 4,000 for 2020 for the following reasons. Due to travel restrictions, people cannot come to Alberta. If they manage to get to Alberta, then they would face unemployment and struggle greatly with integrating into Alberta’s workforce. Generally, newcomers perform poorly for their rest of their lives, if they arrived during an economic crisis.
Alberta is moving forward with its plan to create start up programs to support growth in the technology and innovation sectors as stated in the budget 2020.
The Startup Visa Stream will initially offer fast-track processing with a bridge to permanent residency to qualified graduates of top U.S. universities, if they commit to launching a startup enterprise in Alberta. Foreign graduates from Alberta’s post-secondary institutions will enjoy similar fast-track opportunities under the new Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Program.
Finally, Premier Kenney closed on a positive note by declaring that the provincial government will adjust the new policy as soon as the economic conditions improve.
Video
03:30 – official unemployment rate versus real unemployment rate
09:40 – real unemployment rate even higher
15:00 – Job Creation Tax Cut
16:50 – refusal to process Labour Market Impact Assessments
17:15 – new cap for AINP nominations
17:35 – Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Program
23:10 – reduction of reliance on Temporary Foreign Worker Program
If you need help with your case, then connect with our consultant. Our Canadian immigration consultant can assist you to navigate your issues. Call +1.780.705.0679 today for answers to your questions or take our free assessment to find out whether you are eligible.
