"There are going to be certain occupations under tremendous pressure where employers are having trouble finding workers," Solberg told reporters after his announcement.

"We will reduce the requirements that they have to go through to bring in those categories into the country. It will save them several weeks."

The announcement was made first in Edmonton - where Alberta's booming oilpatch has drawn workers from many other sectors, creating huge labour shortages - and then in Vancouver.

The program is limited to B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In B.C., the booming economy, especially in the construction industry, has left businesses pleading for help to ease the burden.

The federal government in July announced a "temporary work unit program," but the latest initiative goes further, said Solberg.

"It was important but it didn't go anywhere near far enough toward solving some of our labour market woes," he said.

In Edmonton, the minister released a list of 170 occupations with high demand, ranging from housekeepers and cooks to head nurses and chiropractors.

In B.C., there were 129 occupations on the list, including the expected long list of trades jobs, but also physicists, professors, editors and veterinarians.

Companies trying to find workers for those jobs will no longer have to advertise as extensively for Canadians to convince the federal government of their need.

The government's new program will dramatically cut the length of time to process an employer's application for workers. That timeline currently runs from 13 to 17 weeks.

Over the next 10 years, Solberg said figures suggested the shortage of workers in B.C. and Alberta could be as high as 350,000.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, welcomed the announcement.

"This change will allow the immigration system to respond better to the business community's needs," said Kelly in a statement from the federation's Western Canada office in Winnipeg.

Philip Hochstein, president of the B.C.-based Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C., said the government listened to the industry.

"The construction industry has been asking for this kind of list for the past three or four years. The federal government finally listened to the construction industry and they deserve credit for that."

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said any move to help the labour shortage was welcome.

"This was promised by Prime Minister Harper when I met with him last spring. I'm glad that he has kept his word."

But labour federations in Alberta and B.C. expressed concern. The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) predicted the new program will allow foreign workers to be exploited and generally bring down wages.

"I do not trust Harper's government to protect either the foreign workers coming to Canada or to ensure Canadian workers are not pushed aside," AFL president Gil McGowan said in a release.

However, Solberg dismissed the concern.

"We know there have been concerns about this but there are mechanisms to deal with it," he said.

"I'm concerned about it and I want to make sure that when people come here they are treated well."

Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. labour federation, criticized Solberg for going the "itinerant worker route."

"We have said (through Canadian history) that if you're going to come here you get to become Canadian citizens," said Sinclair.

"A few employers see a short-term gain in bringing foreign workers in and having them vulnerable to exploitation."

Solberg also didn't think a more streamlined process for getting foreign workers into Canada might also make it easier for potential terrorists to enter.

"They (foreign workers) still have to go through the same process in terms of screening. We still check everyone for criminality, for security concerns including terrorism."

Saskatchewan is also included in the announcement.

In Regina, Pat Atkinson, the minister of advanced education and employment, said she spoke to Solberg's office and was told the province is in.

She said while B.C. and Alberta have developed a list of "occupations under pressure," her province was working on it.

News the program would be only for Western Canada was met with disdain from an Ontario builders' group.

"It's not going to address the needs of Ontario's robust economy at all," said Andy Manahan, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario. "It seems like the centre of gravity has shifted from Ontario to Alberta with the new government."