Effective June 10, 2020, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is prioritizing certain occupations in the agricultural, food processing, and health care sector, which are considered essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The listed occupations have been prioritized across all provinces and territories (except the province of Quebec). For a list of occupations specific to the province of Quebec, please refer to Hiring in the Province of Quebec.

As of June 10th, Transport Truck Drivers are no longer exempted from the advertising requirements. Any Transport Truck Driver job must comply with the minimum recruitment requirements. Under the previous March 20th, 2020 notice, Transport Truck Drivers were included in the list of occupations that were waived from the advertising requirements.

The program is prioritizing and waiving minimum recruitment requirements for the nine following occupations:

  1. 6331-Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers-retail and wholesale
  2. 8252- Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
  3. 8431- General Farm Workers
  4. 8432- Nursery and Greenhouse Workers
  5. 8611- Harvesting labourers
  6. 9462- Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
  7. 9463- Fish and seafood plant workers
  8. 9617- Labourers in food, beverage and associated products processing
  9. 9618- Labourers in fish and seafood processing

The program is prioritizing the following fifteen occupations and not waiving the minimum recruitment requirements:

  1. 3012 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
  2. 3111 – Specialist physicians
  3. 3112 – General practitioners and family physicians
  4. 3124 – Allied primary health practitioners
  5. 3131 – Pharmacists
  6. 3211 – Medical laboratory technologists
  7. 3212 – Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists’ assistants
  8. 3214 – Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
  9. 3219 – Other medical technologists and technicians (except dental health)
  10. 3233 – Licensed practical nurses
  11. 3237 – Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
  12. 3413 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
  13. 3414 – Other assisting occupations in support of health services
  14. 6731 – Light duty cleaners
  15. 7511 – Transport truck drivers

If a Transport Truck Driver position is situated in a province that has a Mandatory Entry Level Training requirement or equivalent, the foreign national must be in possession of this training certification at the time of work permit issuance.

If you are interested in working in Canada and are currently employed in one of these fields, you may be eligible for an immediate work permit, so long as you have a valid job offer. If you are interested, please contact us for additional information.