Canada woos unemployed British graduates To entice migrants, the length of time they need to work in skilled Canadian jobs to qualify for permanent residency is being halved from two years to one. The change is likely to take effect from next January. It is hoped this will encourage young people who go to Canada to work in gap year jobs in bars or ski resorts, but then find more skilled work, to settle in Canada in the longer term. In addition, the amount of time that 18 to 35 year-olds can stay in Canada on temporary work visas has been extended from one to two years. Mr Kenney said: "There are a lot of young Britons who are under-employed or unemployed but are highly educated. I think so many young Britons have, for some reason, thought of Australia before Canada as a destination for immigration, and we want to be at the front of the competition for the world's best and brightest. He put Australia's enduring appeal down to "rugby and cricket, and Neighbours, and the attraction of the weather." Reasons to choose Canada over Australia, he said, included its closer proximity to the UK and robust economy - "the strongest in the G8." However, there is disagreement within Canada as to whether the government should be retraining its own workers rather than recruiting from overseas. The row intensified last week when official statistics revealed that increasing immigration levels had pushed Canada's population growth up by 1.1 per cent in the past year - the highest rate in the G8. Aattempts to reduce the proportion of non-English speaking migrants have also sparked charges of xenophobia, which Mr Kenney has strongly denied. The immigration reforms have additionally involved cancelling 280,000 residency applications from people who had waited up to nine years for a decision. Legal challenges are ongoing. Meanwhile, Australia is equally determined to compete for skilled migrants. A spokesman for Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship said the Australian lifestyle and strong economy continued to be major draws. He highlighted that Australia is ranked second on the human development index, compared with Canada's sixth place, and has the lowest unemployment rate for migrants of any OECD country.