Demographics and Immigration - Op Eds

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…

Canada’s immigration point system is designed to select for skilled individuals who have the potential to contribute to our country’s economic growth and meet its evolving labour needs. Since the mid-2010s, it has yielded improvements in the overall labour market outcomes for immigrants.

However, recent policy changes warrant immediate attention – especially as the role of skilled immigrants has become increasingly vital. Compared with similar countries, it’s evident that there are several missed opportunities and systemic challenges hindering our immigration system from reaching its full potential and enhancing the well-being of all Canadians.

Canada and Australia, in particular, share similarities in their skilled…

Surging immigration numbers are top-of-mind for Canadians. But as we reconsider targets for newcomers and address pain points such as housing, we also need to pay attention to talent retention.

Tens of thousands of people leave Canada every year, many of them talented and entrepreneurial people we will miss. Importantly, a significant fraction are themselves immigrants, which may mean we are missing an opportunity to boost Canada’s long-term growth and prosperity.

A recent study by Statistics Canada, using a data set that combines detailed immigration department data with a Canada Revenue Agency database, highlights the significant phenomenon of emigration among immigrants in Canada. The overall…

Recent years have seen an unprecedented increase in Canada’s non-permanent resident population, far surpassing increases in annual admissions of new permanent residents. The unbalanced growth in Canada’s temporary and permanent migration inflows will inevitably result in a growing undocumented population and forced deportations. Both developments risk inflaming Canada’s immigration politics and undermining public confidence in the immigration system.

It is imperative that the government take immediate steps to stem the continuing growth in foreign student and temporary foreign worker entries.

Several factors have contributed to the non-permanent resident (NPR) population surge, including ad-hoc programs aimed at expanding…

Immigration is driving a historic surge in Canada’s population. At the same time, Canadian wages and living standards are stagnant. That is a bad combination – and, worse, it is not a coincidence. And here’s the link: Business investment is so weak that the stock of productive capital per worker in Canada – the buildings, tools and software they use – is falling. More workers and less capital are putting Canada on a path to a low-productivity, low-wage economy.

Polls show that most Canadians think of immigration as a driver of economic progress. Until recently, that belief was well founded. Immigrants earn less than Canadian-born contemporaries when they first arrive – so, crunching the numbers, recent arrivals…