As North America’s major free trade agreement undergoes review, there is a growing call for the modernization of the existing list of covered professionals to align with the demands of digital and clean-tech industries.

An expanded list could potentially include professions such as cybersecurity analysts, data scientists, and UI/UX designers.

The agreement, known as the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in Canada and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the United States, replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020. It offers streamlined work permits for professionals in specific medical, technological, and white-collar fields.

Currently, there are 63 professions eligible under the agreement, with the list last updated in the original NAFTA agreement back in 1994.

Under CUSMA, professionals in eligible occupations can secure work permits through Canada’s International Mobility Program (IMP), providing a more straightforward route to work authorization compared to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which necessitates a labor market impact assessment (LMIA) for each worker.

Professions eligible for special work permits under the current agreement include: