If you were an immigrant, would you qualify to come to Canada?

by Ruth Moore, Special Project Facilitator at ERIEC

While working to assist newcomers to Canada for over 8 years, I have often found myself trying to imagine what it’s like to face the many complex challenges new immigrants face once they arrive here in our country.  However, there’s a rigorous process newcomers face before they even get here.  This morning I read an article on the CBC website called, “Would you qualify to come to Canada as a skilled worker?” that gave me an opportunity to consider the criteria that is used to determine whether I, if I were born elsewhere in the world, would even qualify to come here in the first place.

The article is careful to explain that “This is a simplified quiz that cannot substitute for the discretion of Citizenship and Immigration Canada officers” and makes some assumptions about the quiz taker’s ability to meet the “minimum requirements for eligibility and work experience, and has a relevant occupation.”  It was interesting to think of myself as a non-Canadian while taking the quiz, like my Danish grandfather who came here as an immigrant back in the 1920s, to find out whether I would score the required 67 points in the 6 assessment categories!

1. Education (up to 25 points): The points available for education haven’t changed.  The good news is that now an applicant’s education will be assessed against Canadian equivalent when they apply to immigrate.  Grandpa would have scored 22 points for completing his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker and millwright.
2. Proficiency in English and French (up to 28 points):  The points for English and/or French proficiency have increased with the government’s emphasis on the need to speak one of our official languages.  Grandpa only had basic proficiency in English and no proficiency in French, so he would have scored 16.
3. Experience (up to 15 points): The points for work experience in the applicant’s home country have dropped.  Grandpa’s work experience was limited apart from his apprenticeship, so his points in this category would be 9.
4. Age (up to 12 points): The points in this category have risen by 2 points.  Younger applicants score higher because they will contribute longer to the Canadian economy.  Grandpa was only 18 years old when he applied, so he would have scored 12.
5. Arranged employment in Canada (up to 10 points): Having a job offer in Canada will score us 10 points, so long as it checks out as legitimate.  Grandpa had an offer to work as a farmhand in Southern Ontario.  So he would have scored 10.
6. Adaptability (up to 10 points):  This category is quite complex, granting points for a job offer, Canadian work experience for the applicant’s spouse or other family members, Canadian education of the applicant or spouse, and the proficiency of the applicant’s spouse in English or French.  Although Grandpa didn’t have any Canadian work experience, he had brothers who had immigrated before him, so he would have scored all 10 points.

I’m pleased to say that, based on this simplified quiz, my grandfather would have scored more than the required 67 points!  If you were a non-Canadian hoping to move to our amazing country, would you qualify?  Take the quiz and let me know the results!