Human Capital
Productivity depends on the skills, knowledge, and adaptability of the workforce. Canada’s immigration system, credential recognition processes, and skills pipeline all shape the human capital available to employers. In recent years, immigration policy drifted toward temporary, lower-skilled admissions, and newcomers with strong credentials routinely end up in jobs well below their qualifications. Closing that gap, and restoring a selection system built on merit, would help raise productivity.
Human Capital Recommendations Summary
Recommendation
Area of Reform
Level of Government
Source Document
1
Select economic immigrants using a transparent points system (the Comprehensive Ranking System) based on education, language skills, and work experience
Choosing skilled immigrants
Federal
2
Create a joint federal-provincial agency to verify foreign credentials used in immigration applications
Choosing skilled immigrants
Federal
Provincial
3
Raise admission standards for international students
Reforming temporary worker and student programs
Federal
Provincial
4
Preserve high-skill temporary worker streams like the Global Talent Stream while restoring pre-2020 hiring rules and updating the $1,000 employer fee for low-wage hires
Reforming temporary worker and student programs
Federal
5
Keep permanent residency rules consistent instead of creating ad hoc pathways case by case
Reforming temporary worker and student programs
Federal
6
Select more business immigrants for entrepreneurial capacity
Reforming temporary worker and student programs
Federal
7
Calibrate immigration levels to GDP per capita, not admissions targets
Reforming temporary worker and student programs
Federal
8
Speed up foreign credential and work-experience recognition
Recognize credentials faster
Provincial
Federal
9
Create a shared digital credential-assessment entry point across provinces
Recognize credentials faster
Provincial
Federal
10
Create a database of program equivalencies so employers can judge the value of foreign credentials
Recognize credentials faster
Federal
Provincial
11
Let prospective immigrants begin credential assessment before arrival through pre-arrival checks and mutual recognition agreements with trusted source countries
Recognize credentials faster
Federal
12
Require stronger math skills for teacher certification
Improve K-12 Education
Provincial
13
Increase frequency and rigour of math testing
Improve K-12 Education
Provincial
14
Ban smartphones in classrooms
Improve K-12 Education
Provincial
15
Revise math curricula
Improve K-12 Education
Provincial
16
Expand Canada’s Occupational and Skills Information System into a forward-looking database tracking emerging occupations
Match skills to where the economy is going
Federal
17
Replace Employment Insurance’s regional eligibility rules with uniform national standards tied to the national unemployment rate
Match skills to where the economy is going
Federal
References
Commentary 718
2025 Labour Market Review: Trade Uncertainty, Structural Pressures, and Policy Priorities for Canada
Mahboubi, Parisa, and Tingting Zhang · 2026
Intelligence Memo
How to Fix Math Education in Canada
Stokke, Anna · 2026
Intelligence Memo
How We Subverted Our Skills-Based Immigration System
Green, David, Philip Oreopoulos, Craig Riddell, Mikal Skuterud, and Christopher Worswick · 2025
Special Policy Report
An Economic Strategy for Canada's Next Government
Lester, John · 2025
Intelligence Memo
Immigration Reform Begins with Simplifying the System
Mahboubi, Parisa · 2025
Intelligence Memo
A Realistic Strategy to Wean Canadian Businesses Off Low-Skill Foreign Labour
Skuterud, Mikal · 2025
Commentary 662
Optimizing Immigration for Economic Growth
Doyle, Matthew, Mikal Skuterud, and Christopher Worswick · 2024
Commentary 654
Quality Over Quantity: How Canada's Immigration System Can Catch Up With Its Competitors
Mahboubi, Parisa · 2024
Intelligence Memo
A Multi-Pronged Strategy for Managing Canada’s Surging Non-Permanent Resident Population
Mahboubi, Parisa, and Mikal Skuterud · 2024
Intelligence Memo
Our Underemployed Economic Immigrants: How to Stop Wasting Talent
Mahboubi, Parisa and Tingting Zhang · 2024
Commentary 672
Harnessing Immigrant Talent: Reducing Overqualification and Strengthening the Immigration System
Mahboubi, Parisa, and Tingting Zhang · 2024
Intelligence Memo
Reversing the Decline in Canadian Math Scores
Stokke, Anna · 2024
Commentary 433
Mushrooms and Yeast: The Implications of Technological Progress for Canada's Economic Growth
Howitt, Peter · 2015
Backgrounder 144
Mending Canada's Employment Insurance Quilt: The Case for Restoring Equity
Busby, Colin, and David Gray · 2011
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