Canada is at its best when diverse, engaged and empowered youth are able to gain meaningful work and life experiences. In presenting opportunities for Canadian and international youth to travel and work, the Government of Canada is supporting meaningful opportunities for young people to experience other cultures and form lasting relationships.

“I’m very pleased to celebrate this agreement with Italy, which will provide Canadian and Italian youth with more opportunities to live, travel and work abroad for longer than ever before. This will give young people even more opportunity to benefit from the diversity and economic strengths of Italy and Canada, deepening the ties between our 2 countries.”

– The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

“The cultural ties between our 2 countries are strong, and this Youth Mobility Agreement represents a further strengthening in the relationship between Canada and Italy. With millions of Italian-Canadians in Canada, this will be valuable to the youth in our country and will afford young individuals from both countries to mutually benefit on the exchange.”

– Francesco Sorbara, Member of Parliament for Vaughan–Woodbridge

• There are more than 1.5 million Canadians of Italian descent, which is one of the largest Italian communities outside of Italy in the world.

• Canada supports youth mobility through International Experience Canada (IEC), which allows the management of reciprocal bilateral youth mobility arrangements. These arrangements allow Canadians to travel and work in partner countries and territories and allow international youth to do the same in Canada.

• Canada has formal youth mobility arrangements with 36 countries and foreign territories.

• More than 200,000 Canadians have participated in the IEC Program since 2008, and many have returned to Canada with life-changing experiences valuable to both their personal and professional lives

• There are 3 categories of participation under the program:

  1. Working Holiday participants receive an open work permit that allows them to work anywhere in the host country to support their travels.
  2. International Co-op (Internship) participants receive an employer-specific work permit that allows students to gain targeted experience in their field of study.
  3. Young Professionals participants receive an employer-specific work permit to gain targeted, professional work experience that is within their field of study or career path.

Associated links

• Canada and Italy sign new youth mobility agreement
• International Experience Canada

Contacts for media only

Bahoz Dara Aziz
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Bahoz.DaraAziz@cic.gc.ca

Media Relations
Communications Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-952-1650
media@cic.gc.ca