Canada Government optimism to Raise Immigration – Canada plans to significantly increase immigration levels and the number of arrivals to various regions of the country, from all over the world, in the coming years. Some political leaders worry about the effects that large numbers of immigrants could have, particularly the potential strain on health care services, housing and Canada’s labor market.
Canada Government optimism to Raise Immigration rates
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, confirms that matters have been studied in advance and that Canada needs more newcomers to address the shortage of skilled workers and the demographic changes that threaten the country’s future, especially the low birth rate and the high rate of aging.
“If we do not continue to increase immigration levels to Canada and bring more working-age immigrants and young families into the country, our concerns will not be about a labor shortage, but rather a question of whether we will be able to afford schools and hospitals,” he added.
Last November, the Canadian government announced an immigration program that aims to increase the number of arrivals by receiving half a million immigrants annually by 2025. At a time when this number rose, last year, to reach 431,645 people who obtained permanent residence in 2022.
New immigration rates in Canada are expected to be much higher than those in similar countries, such as Australia, which is not a bad thing in itself, but according to Canadian economists, it warns that increasing immigration levels is not the right way to address the current shortage of workers. and craftsmen. In their opinion, immigration policies will make more sense if they are aligned with what is seen as a fundamental structural shortage in the labor market that will persist.
At the same time, the rationale for immigration is clear: Canada has a low birth rate. According to Statistics Canada, the country’s birth rate has fallen to a record low of an average of 1.4 children per woman in 2020, well below the rate of 2.1 necessary to maintain the population without encouraging immigration.
Concern and fear of Canadian opponents of the increase in the number of immigrants
Other observers fear that more newcomers will exacerbate other, more serious problems for Canadian society, such as affordability of housing and health care.
“I have not seen any assessment of the impact of these immigration targets on housing affordability and availability, nor an assessment of these targets in terms of additional pressures on healthcare,” noted Andrew Griffiths, a former senior official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
He further indicated that changes will be made next spring so that immigrants can be selected according to the sector and region in which they settle in Canada. According to him, this factor will help relieve some pressure on vital areas such as healthcare and housing.
Last week, a report by Radio Canada highlighted two sources within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada who said McKinsey’s influence on immigration policy has increased in recent years.
It should be noted that McKinsey is a consulting company contracted by the Canadian government in the field of immigration consulting to Canada, which has suspicions about its credibility and usefulness.
In this regard, the Government’s response to a written question by a Conservative MP, which was raised in the House of Commons last December, indicates that the department had not recently awarded any contracts to the consulting firm, not during the period in which the MP asked the question, which was from March 2021 to October 2022. During the interview conducted on Thursday, Minister Fraser confirmed that McKinsey had played no role in implementing the new immigration plans.
The minister added that he made his bold decisions regarding the Canadian immigration plan based on studies and recommendations from his ministry officials. He added that he also took into account what he had heard from various specialized organizations and provincial and territorial officials.
A number of businessmen and owners of investment projects in Canada confirmed that the lack of employment is a source of great concern to them, and they also asked the government to help solve this problem as soon as possible. After announcing the new plan, the Business Council of Canada applauded the move.
Often, political experts may be concerned about the negative impact that certain agencies can have on government policies, because interest groups pressure the government to implement policies in line with its priorities
