Masai Ujiri received Canada’s highest civilian honor as the Governor General appointed him to the Order of Canada. He received the honor for his significant contributions as the President of Basketball Operations about the Toronto Raptors.
Masai Ujiri received Canada’s highest civilian honor
This honor rewards people “who make remarkable contributions to the country by enriching the lives of others. They create an impact on the country.”
Ujiri is one of 85 people recently named to the Order of Canada by Governor General Mary Simon. He was honored for his “contributions throughout his career on the basketball court as the Raptors president and as a humanitarian.”
The well-traveled Ujiri, a native of Bournemouth, England, is also a Nigerian citizen and formerly worked as the general manager and executive vice president of the Denver Nuggets in the United States. Additionally, he is one of several people with Nigerian ancestry who have immigrated to Canada.
Nigeria was the fourth-largest country by country of citizenship for new Canadian permanent residents (PRs) in 2022. 22,085 Nigerian nationals (5.05% of all PRs) moved to Canada last year. The Statistics Canada data further indicates that among recent Canadian immigrants (between 2016 and 2021), Nigeria emerged as the sixth most often stated birth country.
The recent surge in immigration from Nigeria to Canada is largely due to several factors. One of which is the increase in the number of PR immigration routes open to citizens of that nation.
Two such pathways are as follows:
Federal Skilled Worker Program
The FSWP is one option for immigrants from Nigeria seeking admission to Canada. The following criteria must be met to apply for Canadian permanent residency under this immigration program. Future applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker Program must:
- Ten years of equivalent paid work experience in a skilled occupation at one of the following National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill levels. 0, A, or B.
- Possess the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)-equivalent spoken, written, and listening abilities in English and French.
- A certificate, diploma, or degree issued in Canada or a foreign country supported by an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.
- Obtain at least 67 points on the IRCC’s six criteria for immigration.
Obtain proof of funds to demonstrate that you have the resources necessary to settle in Canada with your family.
In its 2023–2025 Immigration Levels Plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported that the federal government aims to admit 109,020 Express Entry (Federal high-skilled) applicants into Canada through permanent residence in 2019.
Provincial Nominee Program
Eleven of Canada’s thirteen provincial and territorial governments run PNPs open to Nigerian people seeking immigration.
Notably, Provincial Nominee Programs are not run in Quebec and Nunavut like in the rest of Canada.
These immigration programs allow each participating province or territory to select and extend invitations to potential immigrants. However, these immigrants must closely reflect the needs and objectives of their region’s specific economic and demographic groups.
There are numerous ways to use the PNP when applying for PR in this country for prospective candidates from Nigeria, as there are for applicants from any PNP-eligible nation.
First off, qualified immigrants can just submit a straight application for Canadian citizenship through the PNP of a particular province or territory.
The FSWP is one of the three federal programs that are part of the Express Entry. This is the application management system. Those who apply to one of these programs may also qualify for Canada’s PNPs. However, they must receive an invitation to do so from a local government that evaluates the federal pool of Express Entry applicants.
In this situation, PNP applicants who use Express Entry to apply for Canadian immigration will gain an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. As a result, these points effectively ensure they will receive an ITA for Canadian permanent residence in an upcoming Express Entry draw run by IRCC.
