Glossary of terms and concepts Age: Five age groups are shown: 0 to 14 years, 15 to 24 years, 25 to 44 years, 45 to 64 years, and 65 years or older. Age refers to age at landing for permanent residents. Blended Sponsorship Refugees: permanent residents in the refugee category who were identified for resettlement by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and matched with private sponsors in Canada, and who receive resettlement assistance from the federal government. This is a three-way partnership with the Government of Canada, the UNHCR, and private sponsors who are Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs). Business immigrants: Permanent residents in the economic immigrant category selected on the basis of their ability to establish themselves economically in Canada through entrepreneurial activity, self-employment or direct investment. Business immigrants include entrepreneurs, self-employed people and investors. The spouse or common-law partner and the dependent children of the business immigrant are also included in this category. Canadian Experience Class (CEC): This immigration category became effective in September 17, 2008. This is a prescribed class of persons who may become permanent residents on the basis of their Canadian experience. They must intend to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec and must have maintained temporary resident status during their qualifying period of work experience as well as during any period of full-time study or training in Canada. Caregivers: Persons granted permanent resident status after providing, in Canada and for a determinate period of time, home child care or care for people with care needs such as the elderly, people with disabilities or people with chronic disease. Category: Immigration categories are shown for the three main groups of permanent residents—sponsored family class, economic immigrants, and refugees—as well as for “other” immigrants who do not qualify in any of these categories. On an exceptional basis, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act gives Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada the authority to grant permanent resident status to individuals who would not otherwise qualify in any category—for example, in cases where there are strong humanitarian and compassionate considerations. In reference to labour market characteristics, the economic immigrant category is further divided into two subgroups: principal applicants, and spouse and dependants. Economic immigrants: Permanent residents selected for their skills and ability to contribute to Canada's economy. The economic immigrant category includes skilled workers, business immigrants, provincial or territorial nominees, caregivers and Canadian Experience Class. Entrepreneurs: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category who were selected on the condition that they had managed and controlled a percentage of equity of a qualifying business for at least two years in the period beginning five years before they applied, and that they had a legally obtained net worth of at least CAN$300,000. They must own and manage a qualifying business in Canada for at least one year in the three years following arrival in Canada. Government-assisted refugees: Permanent residents in the refugee category who are selected abroad for resettlement to Canada as Convention refugees under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or as members of the Convention Refugees Abroad Class, and who receive resettlement assistance from the federal government. Humanitarian and Compassionate Class: Permanent residents included with other immigrants who are sponsored humanitarian and compassionate class outside the sponsored family class, humanitarian and compassionate cases without sponsorship, and cases that take into account public policy. On an exceptional basis, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act gives Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada the authority to grant permanent resident status to individuals and families who would not otherwise qualify in any category, in cases where there are strong humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations, or for public policy reasons. The purpose of these discretionary provisions is to provide the flexibility to approve deserving cases not anticipated in the legislation. Immigration Act (1976): Federal legislation respecting immigration to Canada. The Immigration Act of 1976 became law in 1978 and remained in effect until 2002. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA): Federal legislation respecting immigration to Canada and the granting of refugee protection to people who are displaced, persecuted or in danger. IRPA received royal assent on November 1, 2001 and came into effect on June 28, 2002. Investors: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category who were required to make a substantial investment in Canada that was allocated to participating provinces and territories for economic development and job creation. Language ability: Four categories of language ability in one of Canada’s official languages are shown for permanent residents: English only, French only, both French and English, and neither language. These are self-declared indicators of knowledge of an official language. Marital status: The marital status of an individual upon entering Canada (single, married, common-law, separated, divorced, or widowed). Mother tongue: The native (first) language of an individual upon entering Canada. In this publication, the top 25 languages reported as mother tongue appear in decreasing order based on the most recent year National occupational classification (NOC): The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is the nationally accepted categorization of occupations in Canada. It organizes over 40,000 job titles into 500 occupational group descriptions. The NOC provides a standardized framework for organizing the world of work in a coherent system. It is used to manage the collection and reporting of occupational statistics and to provide understandable labour market information www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/noc/english/noc/2011/AboutNOC.aspx Occupational skill level: Five skill levels, based on the National Occupational Classification, are shown for permanent residents 15 years of age or older as well as for temporary foreign workers. * Level O (managerial): management occupations. * Level A (professional): professional occupations in business and finance; natural and applied sciences; health; social science, education, government service, and religion; and art and culture. Educational or training requirements: university degree. * Level B (skilled and technical): skilled or technical occupations in administration and business; natural and applied sciences; health; law, social service, education, and religion; art, culture, recreation and sport; sales and service; as well as trades and skilled transport and equipment operators; skilled occupations in primary industries; and processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and skilled operators. Educational or training requirements: two to three years of post-secondary education, or two to five years of apprenticeship training, or three to four years of secondary school and more than two years of on-the-job training, occupation-specific training courses or specific work experience. * Level C (intermediate and clerical): clerical occupations; assisting occupations in health services; intermediate occupations in sales and services; transport, equipment operations, installation and maintenance; primary industries; as well as processing and manufacturing machine operators and assemblers. Educational or training requirements: one to four years of secondary school education, or up to two years of on-the-job training, training courses or specific work experience. * Level D (elemental and labourers): elemental sales and service occupations and labourers in construction; primary industries; and processing, manufacturing and utilities. Educational or training requirements: no formal educational requirements; short work demonstration or on-the-job training. Other immigrants: Permanent residents in the other immigrant category include post-determination refugee claimants in Canada, deferred removal orders, retirees (no longer designated under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act), temporary resident permit holders, humanitarian and compassionate cases, sponsored humanitarian and compassionate cases outside the sponsored family class, and people granted permanent resident status based on public policy considerations. Permanent residents: People who have been granted permanent resident status in Canada. Permanent residents must live in Canada for at least 730 days (two years) within a five-year period or risk losing their status. Permanent residents have all the rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms such as equality rights, legal rights, and mobility rights, freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of association. They do not, however, have the right to vote in elections. Principal applicants: Permanent residents identified as the principal applicant on their application for a permanent resident visa for themselves and, if applicable, for accompanying spouse and/or dependants when they apply to immigrate to Canada. For individuals or families applying to immigrate to Canada in the skilled worker category, only the principal applicant is assessed on the basis of selection criteria in place at the time of the application. Privately sponsored refugees: Permanent residents in the refugee category who are selected for resettlement in the Convention refugees abroad class, the source country class or the country of asylum class and who are privately sponsored by organizations, individuals or groups of individuals. Province or territory: The province or territory of intended destination in Canada. http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/Reference/COGG/Index_e.cfm Provincial or territorial nominees: Economic immigrants selected by a province or territory for specific skills that will contribute to the local economy to meet specific labour market needs. The Regulations establish a provincial or territorial nominee class, allowing provinces and territories that have agreements with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to nominate persons to go to that province. A nominee must meet federal admissibility requirements, such as those related to health and security. Resettled Refugees and Protected Persons in Canada: Permanent residents in the refugee category include government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, blended sponsorship refugees, and protected persons in Canada. Self-employed: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category selected on the condition that they can, and intend to, create their own employment in Canada and contribute significantly either to the Canadian economy or to the cultural or athletic life of Canada (for example, as farmers, artists, actors, writers or professional athletes). Skilled workers: Economic immigrants selected for their ability to participate in the labour market and to establish themselves economically in Canada. Skilled workers are assessed on the basis of selection criteria that stress, for example, education, language ability and skilled work experience. Start-up Business: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category who were selected as immigrant entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to build innovative businesses in Canada that can create jobs for Canadians and compete on a global scale. Source area: Five major world regions are shown: Africa and the Middle East, Asia and Pacific, South America and Central America, the United States, and Europe and the United Kingdom. Source country: Refers to the country of citizenship for all permanent residents unless otherwise indicated. Sponsored family class: Permanent residents sponsored by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident living in Canada who is 18 years of age or over. Sponsored family class immigrants include spouses and partners (i.e., spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner); parents and grandparents; and others (i.e., dependent children, children under the age of 18 whom the sponsor intends to adopt in Canada, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and grandchildren who are orphans under 18 years of age, or any other relative if the sponsor has no relative as described above, either abroad or in Canada). Fiancés are no longer designated as a component of the sponsored family class under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Spouse and dependants: Permanent residents who are the spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children of the principal applicant and listed as such on the application. Urban area: Refers to selected urban areas in Canada that are the intended destination for permanent and temporary residents. A census metropolitan area (CMA) or a census agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent neighbouring municipalities centred on a large urban area (known as the urban core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the urban core. A CA must have an urban core population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the central urban area, as measured by commuting flows derived from census place of work data. http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/Reference/COGG/Index_e.cfm * Newfoundland and Labrador St. John’s * Nova Scotia Halifax * New Brunswick Saint John * Québec Montréal Chicoutimi-Jonquière Ottawa-Gatineau (Québec part) Sherbrooke Trois-Rivières * Ontario Hamilton Kingston Kitchener London Greater Sudbury Oshawa Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario part) St. Catharines-Niagara Thunder Bay Toronto Windsor * Manitoba Winnipeg * Saskatchewan Regina Saskatoon * Alberta Calgary Edmonton * British Columbia Abbotsford Vancouver Victoria