Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is actively seeking out landed Canadian immigrants, whose skills are underutilized in their current occupations, to inform them about the work opportunities available in his province.

He recently hosted a gathering in one of Toronto’s most multicultural neighbourhoods, where three quarters of the 17,000 residents are visible minorities. It is considered a low-income neighbourhood, where many immigrants are working in jobs that are below their qualifications and skill levels.

Premier Wall hopes to recruit these newcomers to Saskatchewan. There, their academic credentials and work experience can be put to better use. There are 10,000 newly created jobs in Saskatchewan in every industry from high-tech to health care, construction to the oil patch. Saskatchewan is a second chance for these newcomers to gain meaningful Canadian employment in their fields.

Saskatchewan cities, such as Saskatoon and Regina, are not often considered as an immigration destination, partly because they are not as well known as Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, and also because they do not have the same sort of immigrant communities. The province is seeking to rectify this through promotion and education. It is in great need of newcomers in order to grow its labour force and population.

50 Saskatchewan employers attended a job fair in Toronto this week, hoping to hire on the spot. Recent studies have shown that immigrants’ incomes are higher in Saskatoon and Regina than they are in Toronto.

The Saskatchewan economy has been booming, leading the country in projected GDP growth for this year of 4.2 percent.