The job market in Canada continues to have strong demand across multiple sectors going into 2024. In November 2023, Canada had over 653,000 job openings.
The majority are in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, and specific industries consistently experience labour shortages.
Using insights from Statistics Canada, we’ll explore the top in-demand Canada jobs for foreigners and immigrants looking to work.
Healthcare Positions
The healthcare sector has the greatest number of jobs in Canada, with over 127,000 open jobs, including:
- Registered nurses across medical, surgical, intensive care, and emergency specialities. Licensed practical nurses support registered staff and patients.
- Personal Support Workers provide basic healthcare services under nursing supervision.
- Administrative support roles like health records technicians, pharmacy assistants, and care coordinators
It is important to have the proper credentials before working in healthcare in Canada. Each province has strict certification regulations. Therefore, it is essential to obtain the necessary certifications before starting work in the healthcare field.
Tourism & Hospitality Positions
The tourism, hospitality, food, and accommodation services sectors also show over 82,800 vacancies nationwide. Some of Canada’s largest and most iconic hotel chains, resorts, restaurants, recreational facilities, and entertainment venues continue to hire aggressively.
Common in-demand roles include:
- Chefs across breakfast, dinner, and pastry disciplines. Also, speciality ethnic cuisine chefs.
- Servers, hosts, bartenders, and food prep roles.
- Customer service and guest relations positions interfacing with patrons.
- Tourism activity coordinators for ski resorts, national parks, and entertainment complexes.
There are good job prospects in this field for new people. Some famous places in the Canadian Rockies include Banff, Whistler, and Jasper.
Additionally, there are big cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Candidates with hospitality experience in comparable resort environments often rise to the top.
Retail Trade Roles
Canada’s retail sector currently has over 69,000 job openings. These vacancies range from in-person stores to online warehouses and logistics operations.
- Retail sales associates across product categories like fashion, beauty, electronics, autos, pharmacy and groceries.
- Retail department supervisors overseeing team workflows.
- Assistant store managers and store managers driving location performance.
- Visual merchandisers responsible for front-of-store displays and signage.
- Inventory control and stock professionals.
Competition remains high for some retail openings, depending on location, so tailoring your application and actively networking prove vital.
Skilled Construction & Trades
Over 58,600 open construction in-demand jobs in 2024 exist across building, infrastructure, mining, and energy projects nationwide. Common skilled trades and project professional roles in demand featured include:
- Construction managers plan and oversee complex builds.
- Project coordinators assist with budgets, scheduling, and communications.
- Safety officers ensure occupational protection.
- Skilled trades like electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, and millwrights.
- Heavy equipment operators running complex machinery.
Newcomers can specialise in high-demand fields, including healthcare facility development, net zero buildings, and renewable energy projects. Provincial Red Seal accreditation helps applicants fill vacancies faster.
Manufacturing Production & Operations
The manufacturing industry wants to hire 41,800 people for production, technician, and operations roles.
- Automotive and aerospace manufacturing needs engineers, machinists, welders, and assemblers.
- Food production facilities search for roles like quality control, process workers, and machine operators.
- Agricultural machinery builders need mechanical and mechatronics technicians.
- Energy, mining, and construction equipment production hiring across operations.
Conclusion
As of the most recently available data, the job market in Canada has over 653,000 openings available, with a growing trend in various industries. As a newcomer, you can increase your chances of securing a job by focusing on high-demand positions.
To make your job search smoother, you need to obtain work permission, network strategically, and customise your application.