How to Get a Job and Work in Canada

If you want to travel to Canada, the most important thing for you to worry about is how to get a job there – unless of course you’re going there to study, in which case the job search is mostly delayed until after you’re settled as a student.

If you’re not Canadian, getting a job won’t exactly be a walk in the park for you. And the reason is not that there aren’t any vacancies. It’s that you will need a suitable visa that will entitle you to work there.

But even though it’s not easy, it’s certainly possible, and a lot of people are doing it.

There are quite a few options for you to try out, and we’re going to run them through for you in this guide.

What kind of jobs are there in Canada?

What kind of opportunities are you likelier to get?

It varies, of course, and Canada is such a large country with numerous opportunities. But most Canadians work in the service sector, particularly in finance and insurance, real estate, and public administration. Those are the country’s biggest service industries, according to Statista.

The most in-demand skills in Canada

Here’s the good news for you:

Although Canada’s economy has been doing quite well over the past decade, the country has always faced a shortage of manpower. There is a high number of job vacancies and a relatively low unemployment rate, which means there are more jobs open than there are qualified workers to fill them.

In other words, there simply aren’t enough skilled people.

For every 100 positions in the last three months of 2019, employers were seeking to fill an average of 3 vacancies. By December of 2021, this number had risen to an average of 5.2 vacancies.

All of this can be summarized into one sentence: opportunities are opening up more and more for foreign workers.

They are opening up for you.

Below is Canadim’s list of top 15 in-demand jobs in Canada in 2022. The list includes both skilled and unskilled work (Find out more about the two kinds here).

1. Key account manager

Key account managers provide sales and customer service efforts for their businesses in order to help retain profitable clients. Individuals in this role are needed to help support businesses toward achieving success in a post-pandemic economy.

2. Developer

There is a strong demand for developers especially since most businesses have turned to technical solutions in the aftermath of the global pandemic.

3. Marketing manager

Marketing managers help businesses implement marketing strategies both online and offline.

4. Registered nurse

Due to a labour shortage during the pandemic, nurses and other health workers are in high demand.

Because there is such high demand for nurses, there are also several immigration options available to overseas candidates with experience in nursing.

5. Driver

As the Canadian economy booms post-pandemic, drivers that operate large commercial vehicles or handle local deliveries will have a strong advantage in the Canadian labour market.

6. Customer service rep

Customer service reps (CSR) help problem-solve with customers either in person, by email or virtual chat, or through a phone call.

7. Welder

Canada expects to add 23,000 welding positions to the economy by 2028. Welding roles are in particularly high demand in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island. However, those with welding experience are likely to have a strong advantage throughout the nation.

8. Engineer

Various types of engineers are in-demand across Canada, whether they work with physical or virtual infrastructure.

As Canada faces a shortage of engineers, employers look to overseas candidates to fill labour market gaps.

9. Accountant

Accountants are vital to the operations of a successful company. As businesses grow in a post-pandemic economy managing finances becomes an increasingly important factor in maintaining success.

10. Cloud architect

As more and more Canadian companies move toward remote work, cloud architects are needed to help support and implement cloud solutions.

11. HR manager

Human Resource (HR) managers help ensure businesses are complying with labour laws, help to reduce staff turnover, and support company growth. Canada’s post-pandemic economic boom has led to employment growth. HR managers are needed to help onboard new employees and help manage company growth.

12. Electrician

Canada is expected to need 23,400 electricians from 2019 to 2028 to fill labour market gaps. Only 20,300 job seekers are expected to be available to fill these roles. Electricians are vital to keeping operations in Canada going.

13. IT project manager

IT project managers help to oversee, plan, and implement a business’s IT goals. With the Canadian tech industry booming, most tech jobs are in hot demand.

14. Mechanical engineer

Mechanical engineers play an important role in various industries across Canada. If you have the right credentials, experience, and education you are likely to find a mechanical engineering job in Canada.

15. Accounting clerks

Accounting clerks help to prepare important financial documents related to a business’s accounts such as bills, invoices, inventory reports, account statements and other financial statements.

Finding the right visa to allow you to work in Canada

Depending on a lot of factors, including your personal aspirations, there are several ways you could become eligible to work in Canada.

Working holiday

If you’re between 18 and 30 then International Experience Canada (IEC) could provide you with the opportunity to travel and work there.

Temporary work visa

Agricultural workers, business people and carers are among those who can readily apply for a temporary work permit. If you can fix up a job before you go, you can apply for an employer-specific work permit. Open work permits entitle you to work for just about anyone apart from those employers who ‘regularly offer striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massages’.

Skilled and looking to live in Canada permanently?

If you’re looking to move to Canada permanently and have the right skills, the Express Entry scheme could be for you. People with skills and experience in management, professional, and technical trades who are successful are placed into a pool of pre-approved applicants from which businesses can pluck the individuals they like the look of to help fill their skills gaps.

Entrepreneurs

The Start-up Visa Program connects Canadian business organisations with immigrant entrepreneurs who have the skills and potential to build innovative businesses in Canada. With the support of a designated organisation, immigrant entrepreneurs can apply for permanent residence in Canada and launch their start-up there. Designated organisations include venture capital funds, angel investor groups and business incubators that have been approved to support these start-ups.

Self-employed artists and athletes

The seemingly random Self-Employed Persons Program is for people wanting a self-employed life in Canada in either the arts (‘cultural activities’) or athletics. You must have relevant experience working for yourself. You can’t be in a hurry, though, as this process can take two years.

Provincial schemes

If you speak French, it’s worth looking to the province of Quebec which has its own separate immigration service

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot helps businesses in four provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) to find people to fill the jobs they can’t find local people to do

Best places to work in Canada

If you want to find an employer worth jumping through all those immigration hoops for, then there’s no shortage of polls, lists and league tables to guide you. These employ wildly varying degrees of rigour but can give you some ideas of employers worth pursuing.

• Take a look at the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project which uses eight criteria to evaluate the best places to work: physical workplace, work atmosphere and social, pay and benefits, time off, employee communications, performance management, training, and community involvement. The 100 making the list aren’t ranked, just arranged alphabetically from Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Inc to Yukon, Government of
• The Great Place to Work website concludes that of its participating companies (who have to pay to take part) the five top Canadian employers of more than 1,000 people in 2018 are: Salesforce, Ultimate Software, Whirlpool Canada Stryker and Intuit Canada
• Job site Indeed’s Top-Rated Workplaces: Best in Canada is based on ratings and reviews left on its company pages. It concludes that if these are anything to go by, the five best places to work in 2019 are Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Fairmont Hotels & Resort, TD Bank, Husky Energy and Ericsson.

Tax and other deductions from your pay: what to expect in Canada

Interesting fact: up until the First World War, there was no income tax in Canada at all because the country was so anxious to encourage people to come and work there. Those days are gone and – as you’ll expect by now if you’ve done even the most cursory research into life in Canada – there’s no Canada-wide standard for income tax rates, these being a combination of federal and provincial income taxes.

The basic rate of federal income tax is 15% on the first $48,535 of taxable income with provincial basic rates ranging from Nunavut’s 4% on the first $46,277  to Manitoba’s 10.8% on the first $32,670.

The federal government collects personal income tax on behalf of all provinces and territories except for Quebec which, as usual, does its own thing. You’ll need to fill out an annual self-assessment return, although employers will deduct your income tax from your pay packet, along with other contributions you’re obliged to make with regard to, for example, the Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP), Employment Insurance (EI) and Provincial Parental Insurance (PPIP).

It sounds like a lot, but in fact, taking into account all taxes paid (including property taxes, sales taxes, excise duties and so on), the tax burden on the average Canadian in the street is relatively low with Canada coming way down the list at 25 in a tax league table of the 35 mostly developed OECD countries (2018).

Adapting your CV for Canadian employers

First, cross out ‘CV’ and put ‘Résumé’.

Canadian employers tend to value succinctness over thoroughness and facts over gush. The horrendous trend for ‘personal statements’ and the like has yet to sweep Canada. Your résumé needs very few sections:

• Contact information
• Your main qualifications (professional and/or academic)
• A summary of your career so far. This should focus on your achievements in each role, not your duties
• Include a section on work experience if you have just started out and don’t have much paid work experience
• Your education and training history
• If you have taken part in volunteer work, do include a section summarising what you’ve done. Canadian employers think well of people who give up their time to help out worthy causes

As a rule-of-thumb, your résumé should be two pages long at the most – one if you don’t have much work experience.

• Do customise your résumé to suit the job you’re applying for
• Don’t list your hobbies and interests unless they are relevant to the job
• Don’t include references

Is your qualification valid in Canada?

Broadly speaking, this depends on whether you’re working in a regulated occupation or not. If you are, then the relevant provincial or territorial regulatory authority will be the arbiter of the validity of your there. About one in five jobs are regulated including doctors, engineers, plumbers, and teachers. For more information, visit the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials.

If your job is not on the list of regulated occupations, then it’s usually just up to the employer as to whether they accept your qualification or not.

Credit: Worldfirst.com