P.E.I. moves to fill vacant jobs with immigrants

The P.E.I. and federal governments have developed a new immigration stream to help employers fill jobs that are in high demand across Prince Edward Island.

The Occupations in Demand stream is designed to fill vacant positions such as nurse aides, tourism accommodation housekeepers, truck drivers and construction workers, said Economic Growth Minister Matthew MacKay.

Previous immigration programs have not been able to fill those holes in the labour market, said MacKay.

"Very tight in scope, so it's tough to pivot with some of those. A lot of these industries didn't fall under some of those gaps, so we had to be creative with how we could do it," he said.

"We wanted to take more of a focused approach of industries that we were really struggling to get people in."

The construction industry is reporting more than 1,000 job vacancies, and MacKay said some tourism accommodations may not open this year because of a lack of staff.

The program will be employer driven, and MacKay said his department will be available to assist employers with bringing in immigrants to fill jobs. The goal, he said, is that these immigrants will arrive with a full-time job waiting for them.

There have been complaints that pay is part of the issue with job vacancies on the Island — P.E.I. has the lowest wages in the country — but MacKay said the government is working to ensure that this new immigration program does not become a tool for keeping wages down.

"The premier is adamant about this, that he wants every department working toward what a liveable wage looks like," he said.

Immigrants will need a minimum of a high school diploma and be able to speak either French or English. The only cost associated with the program is a $300 application fee.