Chapter 5. International Experience Canada

Table of Contents

Canada is recruiting for immigrants.

Canada is turning away immigrants.
Both are true, sometimes even for the same person at the same time. We have to recruit, to keep our population from shrinking. In the past, Canada has had to take in about 700,00 new people a year. That’s about 1.75% of the total population. The 2025/6 targets are for around 380,000 permanent residents.

This chapter is about Canada’s program to provide “young people with opportunities to gain international work experience, learn about different cultures, and build professional networks across borders”. In other words, it’s about recruiting.

Alas, the program is popular, and therefor seriously oversubscribed. This year 40,143 candidates applied, out of which just 6,362 IEC spots were distributed by lottery. About 15%.

5.1 From the US

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec/eligibility.html

It’s even harder from the US.

The US is a preferred source for immigrants, but for some reason they didn’t do as most countries do, and sign a bilateral youth mobility agreement with Canada. I speculate that was to keep us from recruiting their best students.

If you’re from the US, you apply through a “Designated Referral Partner”, who submits candidates to a Recognized Organization (RO), each of which has a quota.

Some of the partners are, in no particular order:

Organization	Key Features
InterExchange	Work anywhere in Canada, support services in Toronto and Vancouver – Working Holiday. Targets the US	https://www.interexchange.org/
JENZA (SWAP)	RO Nomination programs, job placement assistance – Working Holiday– Young Professionals	https://jenza.com/experiences/working-holidays/work-canada-ro/
Stepwest	Resort-focused jobs (ski resorts, hospitality) – Working Holiday– Young Professionals	https://www.stepwest.com/
GO International	Personal support, job placement – Working Holiday	https://gointernational.ca/
A-Way to Work	Specialized in rural/agricultural placements – Working Holiday– Young Professionals	https://awaytowork.ca/
IAESTE, International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience	Technical and professional opportunities, – Working Holiday– Young Professionals– International Co-op	https://iaeste.org/
Languages Canada	Combines language learning with work experience – Working Holiday	https://www.languagescanada.ca/en/
International Internship Network	Working Holidays and International Co-op	https://internship-network.org/
INTERNeX International Exchange	Working Holiday– Young Professionals	https://internexworld.com/
AIESEC (Association for the International Exchange of Students in Economics and Commerce)	Primarily for international students in economics and commerce, – Employer–specific work permit	https://www.aiesec.ca/
Academic Internship Council (AIC)	Focuses on academic internships – Employer-specific work permit	https://www.ciee.org/about/blog/update-ciee-internship-programs https://www.myscholarhq.com/academic-internship-council-2025/ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhMUu40QU8Mwi1uG8fNltBUOoxMhFIRlb
Mennonite Central Committee of Canada / International Volunteer Exchange Program (MCC/IVEP)	Employer-specific work permit	https://mcc.org/get-involved/volunteer/ivep

The country quotas typically get filled to between 90% and 95%. Most ROs see a fill rate between 85% and 95%, so you usually get into the lottery.

Resources, in General

These are about steps common to all three of the programs below.

5.2 Programs

International Experience Canada (IEC) has three different program for gaining Canadian experience,

•Working Holidays, which is what it sounds like,
•International Co-Op, for students that want to do co-op work terms in Canada, and
•Young Professionals, for young businessmen to work here.

5.2 Working Holiday

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec.html

The first of the International Experience Canada (IEC) programs is “Working Holidays”.

This is aimed at young professionals to work and travel. It allows for up to two years or temporary work with Canadian employers, and combines a work permit with a visa.

Time working in this program counts towards the “Canadian Experience”, part of express entry.

Resources

•Moving2canada has a lovely (56-page!) guide on working holidays, Moving to Canada through IEC’s Working Holidays program, https://moving2canada.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Checklist-IEC-WH-9.pdf
A shorter checklist from them, Working Holiday Canada: Your Ultimate Guide to work permits, is at https://moving2canada.com/immigration/iec/working-holiday-visa-in-canada/
•PVTistes (named after the acronym in French) has guides on working holidays, in both French and English, at https://pvtistes.net/

5.3 International Co-Op

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/intern.html

If you are in a program that requires you to do co-op or intern terms, you can do them in Canada under this program. It’s a good way to learn about Canada and make employer contacts.

International co-op is for students who are enrolled in a program that requires all the students complete a work placement. The work can be in Canada if the school and employer agree.

You will need the permission of your school and employer, and once again, you will have to apply through a “recognized organization”.

5.4 Young Professionals

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec.html

This for people looking to get Canadian experience, by getting a job here. The job you’re offered must count toward your “professional development”, and fall into one of these training categories:

Category	Description	Examples
0	Management occupations	Advertising, marketing and public relations managers Financial managers
1	Occupations that usually require a university degree	Financial advisors Software engineers
2	Occupations that usually require •a college diploma •apprenticeship training of 2 or more years, or •supervisory occupations	Computer network and web technicians Medical laboratory technologists
3	Occupations that usually require •a college diploma •apprenticeship training of less than 2 years, or •more than 6 months of on-the-job training	Bakers Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants

For the precise occupations, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/find-national-occupation-code.html has a search function

For the eligibility rules, see https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec/eligibility.html

Time working in this program counts towards Canadian experience.

This is a live document. These links will change. Always refer to the government pages for current rules. And please file an issue at https://codeberg.org/tokugawa-behr/Fleeing-to-Canada/issues so I’ll know what needs updating.

In Short

Canada has bilateral agreements to allow Canadians to work elsewhere, and people from those countries to work here. It’s popular, so have a look and see if you fit a part of this recruiting scheme.