Global Talent Stream (GTS)
The Global Talent Stream (GTS) was launched in June 2017 through a partnership between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
The GTS assists certain Canadian employers to hire highly-skilled talent from around the world enabling them to compete on an international scale. Employers who are successfully approved through the program will be able to expedite the process for hiring foreign nationals through the Global Skills Strategy.
The program is one of the streams contained within Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The GTS accepts applications through two categories. While there are some shared eligibility requirements, each category has unique requirements as outlined below.
Program Requirements
The Global Talent Stream (GTS) is designed to assist Canadian employers with hiring highly skilled foreign talent who will enable Canadians to compete on an international scale. The GTS operates two categories, Category A and Category B. While these two categories have unique requirements, they do share a few common requirements to the GTS:
Processing Fee: Employers applying to the GTS must submit a $1000 CAD application fee.
Business Legitimacy: Employers applying to GTS, as with all applicants to the TFWP, must submit documentation proving the legitimacy of their business.
Labour Market Benefits Plan: As the GTS is designed to enable Canadian companies to compete on an international scale, all employers applying to the GTS must work with ESDC to develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan demonstrating that their business activities will have a lasting impact on the Canadian labour market.
As the GTS is part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, all successful employers applying to the stream must be issued a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) prior to the official hiring of a foreign national.
If an employer meets the general stream requirements, they must verify that they meet the additional requirements for the category to which they wish to apply.
Category A
In order to apply to Category A of the Global Talent Stream, an employer must have been referred to the stream by one of the GTS’s designated partners and be using the stream to hire unique and specialized talent.
The following are designated partners of the GTS, authorized to refer employers to Category A:
| Designated Partners – Global Talent Stream |
|---|
| Accelerate Okanagan |
| Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency |
| BC Tech Association |
| Burlington Economic Development Corporation |
| Business Development Bank of Canada |
| Canadian Economic Development for Quebec Regions |
| Cape Breton Partnership |
| City of Brampton |
| City of Hamilton’s Economic Development Office |
| City of Mississauga |
| Communitech Corporation |
| Council of Canadian Innovators |
| Economic Development Winnipeg |
| Edmonton Economic Development |
| Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario |
| Genesis (Newfoundland) |
| Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service |
| Government of Alberta, Alberta Labour |
| Government of British Columbia, Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology |
| Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Education and Training |
| Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Business Inc. |
| Government of Ontario, Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration – Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program |
| Government of Ontario, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade – Ontario Investment Office |
| Government of Prince Edward Island, Island Investment Development Inc. |
| Government of Saskatchewan, Ministry of the Economy |
| Halifax Partnership |
| Tech Manitoba |
| Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada – Accelerated Growth Service |
| Invest Ottawa |
| Invest in Canada |
| Kingston Economic Development Corporation |
| Launch Academy |
| London Economic Development Corporation |
| MaRS Discovery District |
| National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) |
| Privy Council Office, Special Projects Team |
| Regional Municipality of Niagara |
| Regional Municipality of York |
| Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership |
| Toronto Global |
| Town of Oakville |
| Vancouver Economic Commission |
| Venn Innovation |
| Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation |
| WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation |
For a person to qualify as unique and specialized talent for Category A of the Global Talent Stream, the talent is indicated by advanced knowledge of the industry, coupled with advanced education and at least 5 years of specialized experience in the field.
As well, unique and specialized talent are usually paid a minimum annual salary of at least $80,000 CAD.
Category B
In order to apply for Category B of the Global Talent Stream, employers must be seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign talent to fill positions in occupations found on the Global Talent Occupations List.
Global Talent Occupations List
| NOC Code | Occupation | Minimum Wage Requirement (annual) | Minimum Wage Requirement (hourly) |
| 0213 | Computer and information systems managers | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2147 | Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| Sub-set of 2161* | Mathematicians and statisticians (Positions for actuaries or related occupations are excluded from this subset) | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2171 | Information systems analysts and consultants | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2172 | Database analysts and data administrators | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2173 | Software engineers and designers | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2174 | Computer programmers and interactive media developers | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2175 | Web designers and developers | Prevailing wage | Prevailing wage |
| 2281 | Computer network technicians | $82,000 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) | $39.42 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) |
| 2283 | Information systems testing technicians | $80,000 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) | $38.46 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) |
| Sub-set of 5131 | Producer, technical, creative and artistic director and project manager – Visual effects and video game (The position requires 3+ years of experience in the visual effects, video game and/or animation industries) | $78,000 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) | $37.50 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) |
| Sub-set of 5241 | Digital media designers (The position requires 3+ years of job experience in at least one of the following digital media design skills: 3D modeling, compositing, paint and roto, layout and match move, digital environment and Matte painting, texture, lighting shading, character effects, effects and simulations, design and scenario, rigging, user interface or user experience, responsive design (for gaming), virtual reality, augmented reality, digital media animation, levels editing for digital media design, software editing for digital media design, pipeline software development or applications relevant for digital media design) | $80,000 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements) | $38.46 or higher prevailing wage (Please note Quebec has unique wage requirements |
Employers should note that in order to be eligible, talent must meet both the occupation required as well as the minimum wage requirement.
All employers applying to Global Talent Stream for the first time must also submit a Labour Market Benefits Plan demonstrating how they will benefit the Canadian labour market by hiring a foreign worker. Each application must identify one mandatory benefit.
For Category A, employers must show how they will increase job creation for Canadians and for Category B, employers must show how they will increase skills and training investment for Canadians.
Additionally, employers must show how they will achieve two complementary benefits from this list:
Job creation
Investment in skills and training
Increase in workplace diversity
Knowledge transfer
Enhanced company performance
Best company practices or policies
Finally, employers must pay a processing fee of CAD $1,000 per foreign national they wish to hire.
Global Talent Stream applications are typically processed within 10 business days. If an application is successful, the employer will receive a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) which enables the foreign worker to apply for a work permit. Work permit applications that are submitted for a Global Talent Stream position also qualify for expedited processing: averaging 10 business days!
The first step towards moving to Canada is to get an assessment of your specific situation. Call us today at 1+613.222.7154 for an assessment to see if you are eligible to move to Canada, or fill out our online assessment form.
