The issue of labour shortages is a priority that I share with my colleague Minister Qualtrough. This issue is extremely important to the success of the economy.
If we understand the needs of communities across Canada, we will continue to address this issue. So it's extremely important that we work together, including with the provinces. In fact, my provincial counterparts and I have begun the important work.
If we can continue to understand the needs of the regions and localities experiencing labour shortages, then we can align those gaps with the skills and experiences that exist from around the world.
We are seeing this kind of success through the express entry program. As I mentioned, almost every single person who comes through the express entry has a job—95% of them. This means they are hitting the ground running. More than 80% of those individuals are getting a job in the primary occupation of their choice, which tells us that this particular facet of our plan is working and working well.
I also would say in a last few words that the pilot projects we have introduced—the Atlantic immigration pilot and the rural and northern pilot—are a bona fide effort to work very closely with regional leaders to understand the needs and to align those needs with aspiring Canadians.