C.D. Howe Institute Advisory Group on Immigration Targets
The C.D. Howe Institute has convened an Advisory Group on Immigration Targets to provide recommendations on immigration policy and immigration-level targets. On October 21, 2024, the group held its first meeting to discuss the future direction of Canada’s immigration targets, with a focus on balancing demographic shifts and the country’s absorptive capacity.
Following the government’s recent announcement on reducing immigration targets, the group’s discussions remain pertinent, as members raised concerns about the rapid increase in temporary residents, declining public confidence, housing shortages, and rising unemployment rates, underscoring the need to recalibrate Canada’s immigration approach. These…
Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt with Parisa Mahboubi and Bill Robson
When it comes to Canada’s finances, the country is aging in more ways than one. With a shrinking workforce, government revenue growth slowing, and costs for healthcare, pensions, and seniors benefits escalating. This issue disproportionately affects provincial governments, who bear the brunt of healthcare spending.
In the recent C.D. Howe Institute commentary “Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt: The Fiscal Implications of Demographic Change for Ottawa and the Provinces,” we learn that over the next four decades governments face an implicit $2 trillion liability because of these demographic changes.
Michael Hainsworth talks to commentary authors Parisa Mahboubi and Bill Robson about their research, their conclusions, and the possible solutions to problems caused by this aging trend.
Graph of the Week: Rising Unemployment Challenges Newcomers in a Changing Canadian Economy
During the 2010s, the unemployment rate gap between newcomers and Canadian-born individuals narrowed, largely due to changes in immigration policies, such as the introduction of the Express Entry system. This trend continued in 2021 and 2022 as labour market conditions tightened. However, newcomers and non-permanent residents are now experiencing a sharp rise in unemployment, bearing […] Daniel Hiebert – Immigration and a Population Strategy for Canada (Part 2, The Regions)
From: Daniel Hiebert To: Immigration observers Date: October 25, 2024 Re: Immigration and a Population Strategy for Canada (Part 2, The Regions) Canada’s population is growing, but unevenly. Broadly speaking, we can divide the country into fast- and slow-growing regions. Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Territories make up ‘fast’ Canada, while the other Prairie provinces, Québec, and Atlantic […] Daniel Hiebert – Immigration and a Population Strategy for Canada (Part 1)
From: Daniel Hiebert To: Concerned Canadians Date: October 24, 2024 Re: Immigration and a Population Strategy for Canada (Part 1) Canada established one of the world’s first managed migration systems more than half a century ago when it invented points-based economic selection. Since then, legislation has mandated that immigration policy be designed to facilitate a number […] Mahboubi, Robson – Demography is Destiny, and Canada’s Picture Isn’t Pretty
From: Parisa Mahboubi and William B.P. RobsonTo: Canadians, young and oldDate: September 26, 2024Re: Demography is Destiny, and Canada’s Picture Isn’t Pretty Canada is facing a demographic shift that will put immense strain on our healthcare system and public finances. We currently have about three working-age (18-64) adults for every senior (65+). By 2067, we […] Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt: The Fiscal Implications of Demographic Change for Ottawa and the Provinces
Canada’s changing demographics matter for public finances. Canada’s baby boom from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s was large. The subsequent decline in the national fertility rate was steep. As a result, some 65 years after the baby boom’s peak, Canada’s population is aging fast. Rapid population aging creates challenges for public finances. Departures from […] Parisa Mahboubi – Faster, Please, on Fixing the Temporary Foreign Worker Problem
From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observersDate: August 23, 2024Re: Faster, Please, on Fixing the Temporary Foreign Worker Problem The government has committed to reducing the non-permanent resident population to 5 percent of the overall population within three years, current trends in issuing work permits reveal a troubling disconnect between policy goals and on-the-ground realities. Despite efforts to curb the influx […] Ari Van Assche – Canada’s Electric Vehicle De-Risking Trilemma
To: Canadian trade watchers From: Ari Van Assche Date: August 21, 2024Re: Canada’s Electric Vehicle De-Risking Trilemma With the recent wrap-up of Ottawa’s month-long public consultation on levying tariffs on electrical vehicles (EVs) made in China, let’s paraphrase a story Nobel Prize-winner Paul Krugman once used to explain the often under-appreciated benefits of free trade: Consider a Canadian entrepreneur who starts a new […] Optimizing Immigration for Economic Growth
While Canada’s skilled immigration system has been the envy of the world for decades, the post-pandemic years have seen policy prioritize plugging “holes” in lower-skilled labour markets, which is consistent with popular notions that some types of labour are “essential” to production. Instead, Canada’s economic-class immigration system should return to its successful roots by prioritizing […] Oreopoulous, Skuterud – Once the envy of the world, Canada’s immigration system now lies dismantled
Published in the Globe and Mail
At the crux of economic immigration policy is the question of whether immigrant selection should prioritize current labour market needs or the human capital of applicants. Does Canada need more farmhands and delivery riders, or do we want more scientists and tech workers?
For economists, the answer is simple.
Governments should rely on competitive markets to allocate labour to where it is most productive and focus immigration on raising the average skill level of the population.
Where there are genuine labour shortages, governments can help job seekers identify opportunities but should allow competition for scarce labour to incentivize businesses to increase wages to attract…
The Law of Supply and Demand in Seniors Care
The law of supply and demand plays out in senior care across Canada. This Graphic Intelligence illustrates the price and supply of senior housing spaces in the provinces – plotting rents against supply in standard care and heavy care. Looking at Quebec, more supply of adult living spaces leads to the lowest rents. Meanwhile, others […]