Agri-Food Pilot

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot helps address the labour needs of the Canadian agri-food sector by testing a new industry-specific approach. The pilot is designed to help address the labour needs of the Canadian agri-food sector, particularly in year-round mushroom and greenhouse crop production, meat processing and livestock raising industries, and attract experienced, non seasonal workers who can settle in Canada. Details on how you can apply will be available on May 15, 2020. This pilot will run until May 2023.

❖ Eligibility
To be eligible, you must have qualifying work experience, a qualifying job offer, meet or exceed the minimum language requirements, educational requirements, and prove that you have enough money to settle in the community.

1. Work experience
You must have Canadian work experience, and it must be:
• 1 year of non-seasonal, full-time work (at least 1,560 hours) in the past 3 years, and
• In an eligible occupation within an eligible industry, and
• Through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
– A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) with a minimum 12- month duration must have been submitted by your employer when hiring you.

2. Job offer
You must have a genuine job offer, and it must meet all of these requirements:
• The job must be in an eligible occupation within an eligible industry
• The job must be full-time (at least 30 paid hours a week)
• The job must be non-seasonal (consistent and regularly scheduled paid employment throughout the year.)
• Your employment is permanent (there is no set end date)
• The wage must meet or exceed the Job Bank’s prevailing wage for your job
offer’s occupation in the province of employment (or at the national level if no provincial rate is available).
• Your job offer must be for a job in Canada but outside of Quebec.

3. Language requirements
You must prove your ability in English or French. The minimum language requirements for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot are CLB/NCLC Level 4. “CLB” stands for Canadian Language Benchmark and “NCLC” stands for Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens.
You must submit your results from a designated language test. These results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.

4. Educational requirements
You must have at least:
• A Canadian high school diploma, or
• An educational credential assessment (ECA) report, from a designated organization or professional body, showing that you completed a foreign credential at the secondary school level or above
– The ECA report must be less than 5 years old on the date of your application.
– The original ECA report must have been issued on or after the date the organization was designated.

5. Settlement funds
If applicable, you must prove you have enough money to get settled in Canada. You’ll need to support yourself and any family members you may have, even if they’re not coming to Canada with you.
Those already working in Canada with a valid work permit are not required to provide proof of funds.

❖ Eligible industries
Industries are classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
You can see specific industry definitions by searching the industry codes below on the NAICS website. Your employer needs to include the industry code in your job offer. Eligible industries for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot are
• meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116)
• greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114)
• animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 or 1129)

❖ Eligible jobs under the pilot program
Eligible jobs for the pilot are classified by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code. You can see the duties for each job by searching the National Occupational Classification website. Eligible jobs for each eligible industry are listed below.
• For meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116), eligible jobs are
– NOC B 6331 – Retail butchers
– NOC C 9462 – Industrial butchers
– NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
– NOC D 9617 – Food processing labourers
• For greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114), eligible jobs are
– NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
– NOC C 8431 – General farm workers
– NOC D 8611 – Harvesting labourers
• For animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 and 1129), eligible jobs are
– NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
– NOC C 8431 – General farm workers