(How) do jobs prioritize domestic candidates?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Can someone working at a Canadian institution, and preferably someone who has been part of hiring committees, speak to the typical 'Canadians will be given priority' line in most job ads at Canadian universities. It would be helpful to know how this is actually put in practice when it comes to selecting candidates. What I am most curious about is whether it is already effective at the interview stage, or whether it is more of a tiebreaker.

This would be very helpful for more than one of us, I assume.

Good question. A couple of readers submitted helpful responses. One writes:

I am on the job market now (non-Canadian but have a Canadian degree). The priority has been real for me. I have watched two recent searches at two different Canadian universities. The total 7 candidates who were invited to Campus were all Canadians. (You can tell by looking at the places where they got their bachelor's degrees.) It's only two incidents, but I believe many Canadian institutions just go for Canadian candidates (anyway, there are plenty of good candidates!)

And another writes:

I can speak to this. I am a Canadian, and I have worked in the USA and Europe. The Canadian law is interpreted the same way the equivalent US law is. The US schools are less explicit about advertising it ... but it is more or less the same. The very competitive schools have ways of working around things, such that they can hire who they want without difficulty (they also have legal departments to take care of this). The smaller schools - or ones outside the more competitive rank - tend to not have resources to hire foreigners. There is paperwork involved - costly paperwork. When I was hired by a state college, they needed to apply for a labor certificate saying I was the most qualified candidate, and there was not a qualified American. I know at least one of my competitors - and they were no match for me. But smaller schools do not want to do this, and then have you leave after a year or so. I did not leave so quickly! They got more than their money's worth from me.

It would be great to hear from other readers who are in the know, both in Canada (as this is what the OP asked about), but also in other countries (such as, but not limited to, the US). To what extent do/must hiring departments prioritize domestic over foreign job candidates? 

Comments

[Tenured now]

This is only the tiniest of data points, but I am American and a few years ago I got a first round interview at a mid-rank Canadian university with a PhD program in philosophy. I was offered a fly out, which I turned down because I had accepted another job - but the person who was ultimately hired was on paper much, much less qualified than I was. Who knows if I would have been offered the job if I had stayed in the search, but it at least doesn't keep you entirely out of the running in all cases.

[Jen]

It’s the law that they have to hire a Canadian if qualified. However, some schools get around it by only flying out non Canadians. Illegal but applicant lists are not public so no one would ever know there was a qualified Canadian in the pool.

[expat]

It's more complicated than Jen suggests.

I'm an American working at a Canadian University. I was hired at some point in the last decade, and have sat on some search committees since then, so I have some experience with both sides of the hiring process.

Here's my understanding of the relevant international employment law, gleaned from stuff I've been told by HR, by university legal council, and by an independent immigration lawyer. Like most countries, the US and Canada do have laws that prioritize hiring their own. However, such laws are superseded by NAFTA and its successor, which allow (or in some cases maybe even require?) citizens of Canada, the US, and Mexico to be treated as though they are citizens of the hiring country. There is still some paperwork, application fees, etc., but the significant barriers are removed. (In my case, going from the US to Canada, things were very smooth and straightforward.)

Legally speaking, it's relatively easy to hire within NAFTA countries. Larger, research-oriented places seem happy to take advantage of this.

This isn't to say that all schools do--and indeed my impression is that Canadians do have a genuine advantage over other North Americans at *some* schools--but you can't tell from the job ad. So if a job looks like a good fit, do NOT be dissuaded from applying by the line about hiring preference!

[Expat American]

Do search committees prioritize citizens currently within the country over citizens living abroad? I've heard of this being a thing but never had it confirmed.

[no kidding]

Expat Ameerica
The only reason I can think of prioritizing citizens in the country (rather than citizens living abroad) is that it is generally cheaper to fly them in for an interview. Some colleges really are on tight budgets - so the cost of bringing people in may limit the number of candidates who can be brought to the campus. NO KIDDING.

[F]

Speaking for a few continental EU countries I've worked with/hired for wrt both temporary and permanent jobs: prioritizing EU citizens has never been a concern (it would be illegal to discriminate between citizens and non-citizens if they are from the EU, except for some sensitive positions).

One concern (esp. for permanent jobs) is how well you know the language (for teaching, and mostly, managing the department).