Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Growth and Survival Means Immigration - And Yes Fiscal Conservatism

A new Liberal government has re-emphasised immigration and either altered or outright reversed several immigration policies from the previous Harper regime.  With the UK voting on whether or not to stay in the EU, the recent terrorist attacks Belgium, along with the rise of Donald Trump, the benefit of immigration is being contested in both the United States and Europe. When it comes to Canada however, the data clearly reveals Canada’s economy is almost entirely reliant on immigration for its labour growth.

According to Statistics Canada, as of May 2016 the number of landed immigrants employed in Canada rose by 261,200. That's an increase of 6.6 percent from the previous year. Over the same period of time, jobs held by native Canadians were down 93,300.

From Statistics Canada


This trend is reflective of the dropping prices of commodities (as in Oil here in AB) that in turn channel economic activity away from regions driven by resources with lower immigrant populations, like Calgary, to large urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver with higher concentrations of workers born outside Canada.

It should also be noted that according to Stats Canada, our country is aging faster than most any other industrialised nation, which means native born Canadians are leaving the workforce at faster rates than ever before. By extension, we are are far more dependant on foreign-born employment than the majority of other industrialised nations. A prime example is our country's largest city - where the share of immigrants in Toronto's workforce has been above 50 percent throughout 2016.

The bottom line of such data is that without immigration and the much younger demographic profile that comes with it, Canada will become stagnant as a nation. Immigration is about growth and survival. End of Story. And that's less bleeding-heart Liberalism and more just straight up fiscally sound Conservatism.


From Statistics Canada

No comments:

Post a Comment