Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Foreign Credential Recognition Program
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGO15 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Learning, Skills Development and Employment
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Foreign Credential Recognition Program provides funding to provinces and territories, regulatory authorities and other organizations to improve foreign credential recognition processes and make them faster and more efficient. It also provides loans to help skilled newcomers obtain recognition of their credentials, and provides employment supports to help skilled newcomers gain Canadian work experience in their filed of study.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Credential Recognition Program | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $219M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of newcomer clients who find employment in their intended or related occupation post intervention; Proportion of loans recipients who completed credential assessment (following loans repayments) | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Spending $27.2M, against $21.7M in 2020-21 (+26%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022 | Budget 2022 measure “Supporting Foreign Credential Recognition in the Health Sector”: $115M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2022, PDF page 147 |
| 2022-23 | Spending $37.6M, against $27.2M in 2021-22 (+38%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024 | Budget 2024 measure “Recognizing Foreign Construction Credentials and Improving Labour Mobility”: $50M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2024, PDF page 98 |
| 2024-25 | Indicators added: Proportion of participants in employment support projects (excluding FCR loans) who gain Canadian work experience relevant to their profession or field of study | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators dropped: Proportion of skilled newcomers in regulated occupations targeted by systemic foreign credential recognition interventions | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $49.4M, against $38.4M in 2023-24 (+29%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025 | Budget 2025 measure “Improving Foreign Credential Recognition”: $0M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2025, PDF page 133 |
| 2025-26 | Indicators added: Proportion of participants in FCR loans projects who complete their Foreign Credential Recognition; Proportion of participants in employment support projects (excluding FCR loans) who found employment in their intended or related occupation | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators dropped: Proportion of participants in employment support projects (excluding FCR loans) who gain Canadian work experience relevant to their profession or field of study | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $80.1M, against $49.4M in 2024-25 (+62%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Proportion of participants in employment support projects (excluding FCR loans) who found employment in their intended or related occupation | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned spending $55.4M, against $80.1M in 2025-26 (−31%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 30% | 2025 | 61% The % of participants who gained Canadian work experience relevant to their field or profession is derived from the employment support projects completed in 2024-2025. Based on the results of a program evaluation completed in June 2025, Foreign Credential Program has changed the methodology used to calculate this indicator. Results are now calculated using data from projects completed during the… | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 78% | 2019 | 81.4% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 55% | 2020 | 56% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 55% | 2021 | 54% This indicator is measuring all of FCR-related programming, including FCR loans. Results for this indicator are slightly lower than forecasted due to the impact of COVID-19 on FCRP projects (e.g., client uptake of loans was significantly lower than projected). | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 55% | 2022 | 51.1% Results for this indictor are calculated using IRCC landing data. Results are slightly lower than forecasted due to gaps in IRCC data (i.e. more than half of the landing data lists “Not stated” or “Other” as newcomers’ occupation). | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 55% | 2023 | 54.1% Result is calculated using the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) landing data. As such, the result is slightly lower than forecasted due to data gaps, i.e., landing data lists “Not stated” or “Other” as newcomers’ occupations. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 55% | 2024 | 49.5% Results for this indicator are calculated using IRCC landing data. Results are lower than forecasted due to gaps in IRCC data (e.g., about half of the landing data lists “Not stated” or “Other” as newcomers’ occupation). | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 30% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $25.9M | $20.7M |
| 2019-20 | $26.7M | $23.7M |
| 2020-21 | $26.7M | $21.7M |
| 2021-22 | $26.8M | $27.2M |
| 2022-23 | $26.8M | $37.6M |
| 2023-24 | $45.5M | $38.4M |
| 2024-25 | $55.7M | $49.4M |
| 2025-26 | $80.1M | — |
| 2026-27 | $55.4M | — |
| 2027-28 | $55.4M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $55.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 44 | 43 |
| 2019-20 | 47 | 37 |
| 2020-21 | 47 | 33 |
| 2021-22 | 47 | 49 |
| 2022-23 | 47 | 57 |
| 2023-24 | 65 | 58 |
| 2024-25 | 68 | 61 |
| 2025-26 | 83 | — |
| 2026-27 | 66 | — |
| 2027-28 | 66* | — |
| 2028-29 | 66* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $25,883,667 | $26,003,966 | $26,104,111 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $26,658,477 | $26,658,477 | $26,658,477 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $26,654,994 | $26,654,994 | $26,654,994 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $26,834,397 | $26,842,797 | $26,842,797 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $26,756,030 | $26,756,030 | $26,756,030 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $45,532,550 | $55,333,487 | $55,086,688 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $55,709,938 | $55,477,777 | $55,803,344 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $80,065,033 | $55,904,222 | $55,865,664 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $55,417,542 | $55,363,611 | $55,340,750 | ||||||||
| Actual | $20,741,229 | $23,712,576 | $21,661,242 | $27,206,387 | $37,636,008 | $38,433,973 | $49,406,072 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
