Economic immigrants are people selected for their skills and ability to contribute to Canada's economy, including international students (if they choose to stay after graduation), foreign workers, and business immigrants.

Unlike family reunification or refugee class, the economic class focuses on applicants’ ability to become economically established in Canada. International graduates and foreign workers are often required to demonstrate their employability to fill labour and skills shortages in the Canadian labour market, whereas business immigrants are evaluated on their contribution in terms of job creation, development in a regional or remote setting or expansion of export markets for Canadian products and services, or advancement of the Canadian industry.