Adedokun Waliyu 
Canada is inviting 500 healthcare workers from other countries including Nigeria to immigrant into the country.
This announcement was made on Wednesday by Sean Fraser, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship via his Twitter handle.
Fraser tweeted that the workers could come through the federal express entry program, which is designed to bring highly skilled immigrants to the country.
“We are bringing more health care workers to Canada and we have changed the approach to immigration by bringing an additional focus on certain sectors facing serious labour shortages,” he tweeted
According to him, the first sector to benefit from this new process is healthcare. “Today, 500 skilled healthcare workers will be invited to immigrate to Canada, and on July 5, we will invite 1500 more.”
Fraser added that the new program is expected to double the number of healthcare workers coming to Canada through the federal Express Entry system this year.
“This announcement will strengthen our healthcare system and help provide more Canadians with the high quality care they deserve,” he said.
Between 2017 and 2022, Canada welcomed around 21,000 health-care workers — a rate of just over 4,000 workers a year, according to the minister.
“The goal now is to get around 8,000 new health-care workers a year.The new system, the minister said, will have to be accompanied by faster visa processing times.”
On Tuesday, the country unveiled its first-ever immigration tech talent strategy that will create new job opportunities for other countries including Nigeria.
It’s aging population and lower birth rate has been shrinking its labour force, forcing the country to intensify its efforts to attract large, young and vibrant immigrants by offering immigration-friendly policies.
The country landed 437,120 Permanent Residents (PRs) in 2022, a nearly eight percent increase from the total number of PRs in 2021, according to data the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
For Nigeria, it grew by 41.9 percent to 22,130 last year from 15,595 in the previous year.
