Immigration to Canada Important for Economic Growth
Canadian immigration is important for keeping the economy growing, especially as millions of Baby Boomers retire from the workforce, according to a report issued by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on May 29, 2020.
The report by RBC Economics says that “Canada has been one of the world’s top destinations for immigrants” with a “record-setting 341,000 newcomers” moving to Canada as permanent residents during 2019, accounting for “more than 80% of the increase” in the country’s population which grew by 580,000 residents last year.
Canada’s economic growth strategy has depended on high levels of Canadian immigration in order to offset the rising number of people working in Canada who are retiring from the labor force, according to the report.
For example, only 8% of immigrants living in Canada are 55 years of age or older, while over 30% of the overall Canadian population is at least 55 years of age.
In fact, the report reveals that approximately two-thirds of the immigrants living in Canada “are in the prime working ages between 25 and 54” and it is the sustained influx of younger immigrants moving to Canada over the past 15 years that has prevented the country’s population from rapidly aging on a similar trajectory as occurred in Japan during the 1990s.
Today, Canada has one of the youngest populations of any of the G-7 countries, due primarily to ongoing Canadian immigration.
It has been estimated that around 9 million people working in Canada will enter retirement during this decade (an average of 900,000 new retirees each year) and, therefore, millions of workers, including skilled immigrants, will be needed to replace them and to fill new Canadian jobs that will be created over the next 10 years.
According to the RBC Economics report, “Canada will need a younger and growing population to maintain growth” in its economy and, therefore, urges high levels of Canadian immigration to continue.
In short, the May 2020 RBC report says that immigration to Canada is important for the country’s future economic growth because younger immigrants working in Canada help to make up for the large numbers of Baby Boomers who are retiring; fill Canadian jobs in business sectors facing skilled labor shortages; stimulate the GDP growth of the largest cities in Canada; keep the housing market booming; and they are a significant source of funding for Canadian universities through the tuition paid by international students.
The need to maintain robust levels of immigration to Canada was also discussed in an interview on May 15, 2020, by Marco Mendicino, the Canadian immigration minister, who said that immigrants working in Canada play an essential role in keeping the country going, especially during the novel coronavirus pandemic, and that their contributions to the country will continue to be valued in the future.
He declared that “it’s vitally important that we continue to immigrate today in a manner that is safe and orderly and also to drive that future that we all believe will be underpinned by immigration as it has been in the past.”
The Canadian immigration minister also said that, “Immigration is fundamentally about people coming together to build a stronger country, and that is an enduring value that I believe in, that I have faith in Canadians that they believe in, that we will see endure long after COVID-19 is behind us.”
He further stated that after the temporary travel restrictions imposed for health and safety during the global pandemic are lifted, the doors will once again be wide open for immigration to Canada.
If you and your family are thinking about moving to Canada for better opportunities, please be aware that the Canadian immigration procedure takes approximately 12 months to complete, depending on which immigration program you are applying for and other factors.
Therefore, if you start the process today, satisfy the eligibility criteria and successfully complete the Canadian immigration procedure, you and your family could be among the thousands of new permanent residents who will immigrate to Canada in the near future when the doors of opportunity are wide open!
To learn more about immigration to Canada, click here!
