More than one in four businesses (28.0%) in Canada hired individuals in regulated occupations in the 12 months preceding the survey, according to the latest data from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions for the fourth quarter of 2023. Of these businesses, 17.0% hired individuals with a professional certificate or industry licence from another province or territory across Canada in all industries. The remainder of this article presents findings on these businesses.
Businesses in the territories and large businesses most likely to hire individuals from other provinces
Of the businesses that hired individuals in regulated occupations in the previous 12 months, businesses located in the territories were the most likely to have hired or to have considered hiring individuals in regulated occupations from another province or territory.
Nearly two-thirds of those in Nunavut (64.9%) did so, followed by over half of businesses in the Northwest Territories (53.0%) and over one-third of those in Yukon (36.7%). Conversely, businesses in Manitoba (10.8%) and British Columbia (15.5%) were the least likely to do so.
Significant differences can be observed by industry, with businesses in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction (29.6%), manufacturing (26.6%), and health care and social assistance (26.1%) most likely to hire individuals in regulated occupations from another province or territory. Conversely, businesses in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (7.2%), real estate and rental and leasing (7.4%), and construction (8.9%) were the least likely to do so.
Among businesses that hired individuals in regulated occupations, those with 100 or more employees were more likely to hire individuals in regulated occupations from another province or territory (48.7%). By comparison, 7.5% of businesses with 1 to 4 employees did the same.
Chart 1: Proportion of businesses employing individuals in regulated occupations that hired individuals with a professional certificate or industry license from another province or territory over the last 12 months, by business size, fourth quarter of 2023
Businesses report obstacles to hiring out of province or territory
Among businesses that hired or considered hiring individuals from another province or territory in regulated occupations, the most frequently reported obstacle was the waiting time for candidates to be certified or licensed in the businesses’ province or territory (35.5%). Businesses in health care and social assistance (56.9%) were the most likely to report this obstacle.
Nearly 3 in 10 businesses (29.7%) reported costs associated with hiring an individual from another province or territory as an obstacle. This obstacle was most commonly cited by businesses in retail trade (44.0%).
The level of effort required to verify a person's certification or license with the relevant regulatory body was reported as an obstacle by over one in five businesses (22.6%), with those in manufacturing (37.3%) most likely to report this obstacle.