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A curated resource of recent research on trends shaping Canada's labor market.

A Growing Problem: How to align Canada’s immigration with the future economy

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Key Takeaway
To address long-term economic challenges and labour shortages, Canada must update its immigration policies to prioritize and support economic immigrants and international students and to streamline credential recognition.

 

Canada continues to rely heavily on high immigration rates as it navigates competing economic priorities.  

While inbound migration has accounted for all the growth in the labour market over the last decade, economists and labour market researchers are still wondering if the high migration rates will be enough to offset the long-term effects of an aging workforce and ongoing labour shortages.  

Policy interventions have often focused on immediate concerns, resulting in a mismatch between people’s skills and qualifications and those needed to address long-term economic challenges and uncertainty.  

To maintain economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for all, policies should be more  focused on three things: 

  • supporting immigrants’ economic outcomes  
  • evaluating the labour market’s needs  
  • reinforcing and strengthening infrastructure capacity  

Recommendations to better align Canada’s immigration program with economic health include:  

  • Update the Comprehensive Ranking System to prioritize economic immigrants who have higher predicted earnings.  
  • Provide inclusive work opportunities and job-readiness programming for international students.  
  • Update protocols that currently require international students to state their intention to return home upon graduation (perhaps remove the requirement entirely).  
  • Support post-secondary institutions in building additional student housing (includes developing coordinated approaches to sustainable funding).  
  • Consider mutual credential recognition agreements with leading source countries to streamline and accelerate the credentialling process. 
New
May, 2024 | Hou, F.
Key Takeaway: Immigrants' levels of active engagement in the labour market and participation in Canadian society have been increasing steadily.
New
May, 2024 | Gueye, B.
Key Takeaway: Despite general stability in Canadian business survival rates, women- and immigrant-owned businesses face distinct challenges due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New
May, 2024 | Schimmele, C., & Hou, F.
Key Takeaway: Aligning immigration policies with evolving workforce demands and trends in education-occupation mismatch will optimize economic outcomes for newcomers.
March, 2024 | The Daily
Key Takeaway: Educational attainment levels among racialized immigrants in Canada rose significantly from 2006 to 2021. This change was likely supported by immigration policies focused on meeting labour market demands.
May, 2024 | The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
Key Takeaway: Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program needs immediate reform to address ethical concerns and streamline support for workers and employers.
June, 2024 | The Daily
Key Takeaway: Statistics Canada’s 2023 to 2073 projections of Canada’s population predict significant growth (driven by immigration) and highlight the impact of aging demographics across the provinces and territories.
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