Authored by Kelly O’Connor, immigration & refugee lawyer and partner at Giroux O’Connor Immigration Law
The Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) is a revolutionary immigration program that combines economic and humanitarian considerations. In a global context where more than 110 million people are forcibly displaced, Canada’s EMPP has offered a rare and life-changing opportunity: a pathway to permanent residence that recognizes both professional skills and humanitarian need. It offers a pathway to Canada for highly-skilled refugees from around the world who oftentimes live in regions where they are denied the opportunity to live up to their full potential. With a focus on its job-offer stream, it also offers Canadian employers a streamlined path to hire skilled and deserving workers from around the world.
Notwithstanding its successes, the EMPP is in danger. It is still a pilot program and it is set to expire on June 12, 2025. The Canadian government must act now to extend it and make it permanent.
The EMPP was initially launched in 2018 with the goal of connecting skilled refugees with Canadian employers. One of its most important features is that it provides flexibility in fulfilling immigration requirements, when compared to economic immigration programs such as Express Entry. For example, an educational credential assessment is not required. This is particularly important for refugees with university degrees from countries where their educational institutions may have been destroyed by war or dismantled by autocratic regimes. Since the EMPP was launched, over 430 refugees have arrived in Canada through the program.
The IRCC Public Policy that launched the current phase of the pilot explains better than anything the advantages of the EMPP: “The goal of this public policy is to provide refugees and other displaced people in need of protection with a durable solution while also providing Canadian employers with access to a new pool of talent. In this way, Canada is helping change the narrative from one that views displaced people as a burden, to one that acknowledges that, with protection and safety, refugees and other displaced people have the skills, abilities and attributes to contribute to their new communities and Canada’s economy.”
For this reason, the EMPP remains a revolutionary program that changes the lives of skilled refugees and contributes to the Canadian economy. As immigration lawyers, we should be very concerned if this program is allowed to lapse.
A Promise Made
Far from allowing the program to expire, the Trudeau government promised to make the EMPP permanent. In 2023, former Immigration Minister Marc Miller attended the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva Switzerland. There, he pledged to make the EMPP a permanent fixture in Canada’s immigration system. This commitment was welcomed by refugee advocates, immigration lawyers, and employers alike. Yet today, that promise remains unrealized. Not only has the EMPP not been made permanent, the government has announced no renewal or extension of this critical pilot program.
A Call to Action
We applaud the Canadian government for having launched the EMPP and for recognizing the untapped potential of displaced talent. But now is the time to secure that vision.
We call on Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to honour the unfulfilled promises of the Trudeau government Canada’s commitment to refugee protection and economic inclusion by making the EMPP a permanent program.
The impact of the EMPP goes far beyond policy innovation. It offers displaced individuals the opportunity to contribute to Canadian society using their skills, to support their families with dignity, and to live with long-term security. Employers, particularly in sectors facing chronic labour shortages, also benefit. Everyone wins—except when the program is allowed to lapse.
Let’s ensure that the EMPP doesn’t expire, but evolves—into a lasting legacy of hope, opportunity, and justice.
