The total number of Canadian jobs tied to our exports to the US has grown over time, except during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic – though in both instances they rebounded quickly. While American jobs supported by US exports to Canada have declined slightly since 2014, they still total around 1.4 million. […]
The number of federal government employees grew sharply from 340,000 in 2014/15 to nearly 440,000 in the most recent fiscal year. The rise in wages and salaries has grown at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent over the same period – a figure that, while more modest, surpasses the average annual rate of inflation […]
February 25, 2025 – Canada’s expansive immigration policy from 2016 to 2024 has expanded the labour force but has also increased demand for goods, services, and infrastructure, more likely sustaining or even increasing overall labour shortages rather than easing them, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Immigration Paradox: How […]
Study in Brief This study investigates the effects of Canada’s expansive immigration policy, implemented between 2016 and 2024, on labour shortages. It explores how the influx of permanent and temporary immigrants has affected the balance between labour supply and demand, with attention to whether the policy has met one of its key objectives – alleviating […]
From: Jennifer RobsonTo: The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and LabourDate: February 13, 2025Re: Please stabilize the automatic stabilizer, Employment Insurance At the time of writing, outside of steel and aluminium, Canada may have some temporary reprieve from the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs. But that could all change before this even goes to print. […]
Study in Brief Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) underestimates the rapidly growing non-permanent resident (NPR) population. This undercount potentially distorts important economic indicators, such as nominal wage growth and unemployment rates, because NPRs disproportionately influence these measures as a growing share of new labour market entrants. To address this data gap, this E-Brief recommends […]
Although the year-over-year rise in the unemployment rate suggests a weakening Canadian labour market, the reality is that Canada has a dynamic and robust labour market characterized by extraordinary labour force growth and steady employment gains.
Literacy is a critical determinant of economic and social outcomes, underpinning effective communication, problem-solving, and workforce adaptability. In Canada, there is significant provincial variation in average literacy scores among adults aged 16–65 with a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Potential explanations include: quality of education, access to adult training, upskilling opportunities across provinces, and the composition […]
Published in the Financial Post. Statistics Canada announces the unemployment numbers for December on Friday. Media reporting last month on the release of November’s numbers painted a picture of economic distress, given the jump in the overall unemployment rate from 6.5 to 6.8 per cent. But the alarmed response missed critical developments in the underlying […]
 University-educated immigrants, especially recent arrivals, face disproportionately high rates of overqualification for their jobs compared to non-immigrants. This issue persists across various immigrant groups, with family-class immigrants and refugees experiencing particularly high levels. Immigrants can end up in jobs not matching their education level because of barriers to foreign credential recognition, lack of Canadian […]
From: Christopher Worswick To: Concerned Canadians Date: December 9, 2024 Re: Let’s Grab a Labour Mobility Win from the Trump Trade Turbulence Last month Donald Trump said he’d impose a 25-percent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico. Next, he reportedly joked that, if Canada cannot bear the economic consequences of the tariff, then it should become America’s “51st state.” […]
Between 2019 and 2023, Canada’s public sector employment grew at more than twice the rate of the private sector, increasing by 13 percent compared to just 5.9 percent. This shift added around half a million public sector jobs, with public administration as the largest contributor, raising the public sector’s share of total employment from 19.7 […]
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The total number of Canadian jobs tied to our exports to the US has grown over time, except during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic – though in both instances they rebounded quickly. While American jobs supported by US exports to Canada have declined slightly since 2014, they still total around 1.4 million. […] 
The number of federal government employees grew sharply from 340,000 in 2014/15 to nearly 440,000 in the most recent fiscal year. The rise in wages and salaries has grown at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent over the same period – a figure that, while more modest, surpasses the average annual rate of inflation […] 
Study in Brief This study investigates the effects of Canada’s expansive immigration policy, implemented between 2016 and 2024, on labour shortages. It explores how the influx of permanent and temporary immigrants has affected the balance between labour supply and demand, with attention to whether the policy has met one of its key objectives – alleviating […] 
From: Jennifer RobsonTo: The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and LabourDate: February 13, 2025Re: Please stabilize the automatic stabilizer, Employment Insurance At the time of writing, outside of steel and aluminium, Canada may have some temporary reprieve from the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs. But that could all change before this even goes to print. […] 
Study in Brief Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) underestimates the rapidly growing non-permanent resident (NPR) population. This undercount potentially distorts important economic indicators, such as nominal wage growth and unemployment rates, because NPRs disproportionately influence these measures as a growing share of new labour market entrants. To address this data gap, this E-Brief recommends […] 
Although the year-over-year rise in the unemployment rate suggests a weakening Canadian labour market, the reality is that Canada has a dynamic and robust labour market characterized by extraordinary labour force growth and steady employment gains. 
Literacy is a critical determinant of economic and social outcomes, underpinning effective communication, problem-solving, and workforce adaptability. In Canada, there is significant provincial variation in average literacy scores among adults aged 16–65 with a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Potential explanations include: quality of education, access to adult training, upskilling opportunities across provinces, and the composition […] 
Published in the Financial Post. Statistics Canada announces the unemployment numbers for December on Friday. Media reporting last month on the release of November’s numbers painted a picture of economic distress, given the jump in the overall unemployment rate from 6.5 to 6.8 per cent. But the alarmed response missed critical developments in the underlying […] 
 University-educated immigrants, especially recent arrivals, face disproportionately high rates of overqualification for their jobs compared to non-immigrants. This issue persists across various immigrant groups, with family-class immigrants and refugees experiencing particularly high levels. Immigrants can end up in jobs not matching their education level because of barriers to foreign credential recognition, lack of Canadian […] 
From: Christopher Worswick To: Concerned Canadians Date: December 9, 2024 Re: Let’s Grab a Labour Mobility Win from the Trump Trade Turbulence Last month Donald Trump said he’d impose a 25-percent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico. Next, he reportedly joked that, if Canada cannot bear the economic consequences of the tariff, then it should become America’s “51st state.” […] 
Between 2019 and 2023, Canada’s public sector employment grew at more than twice the rate of the private sector, increasing by 13 percent compared to just 5.9 percent. This shift added around half a million public sector jobs, with public administration as the largest contributor, raising the public sector’s share of total employment from 19.7 […]