![]() ![]() Germany risks having five million fewer workers by the end of the decade, and already is struggling with strains in its industrial-heavy economy. France’s plan to raise the retirement age by two years to 64 led to nationwide protests. The looming threats of an aging population - leading to dwindling tax revenue and shrinking budgets - are playing out in different ways around the world. At the current pace of growth, the smallest G-7 country by population would double its residents in about 26 years, and surpass Italy, France, the UK and Germany by 2050. Nearly one in four people in Canada are now immigrants, the largest proportion among the Group of Seven nations. “You have to realize that if you don’t embrace immigration, there are whole hosts of social and economic consequences that will impact your community negatively,” Sean Fraser, Canada’s immigration minister, said in an interview. “The ability to successfully integrate people in large numbers doesn’t demand that you welcome fewer people, it demands that you advance smart immigration policies.” The inflow pushed Canada’s annual population growth rate to 2.7 per cent, the fastest pace among advanced economies and rivaling developing nations Burkina Faso, Burundi and Sudan. Last year, foreign students, temporary workers and refugees made up another group that’s even larger, bringing total arrivals to a record one million. The Trudeau administration has set a target of adding about half a million permanent residents each year. “The speed of that adjustment exacerbates the costs and reduces the additional productivity because there’s less time for people to get adjusted.” “It doesn’t make sense in this very short period of time to make such a rapid increase,” said David Dodge, a former Bank of Canada governor who decades ago worked on a system that’s a genesis of the current immigration program. Real GDP per capita has been little changed over the past decade, and is expected to fall from its 2022 peak, based on Bank of Canada output forecasts. Productivity growth has been stagnant, and disposable income hasn't kept up with home prices.Įven some prominent, pro-immigration economists are now saying Canada is going too far, too fast. Yet in a country that’s long been home to one of the world’s hottest housing markets, the government’s plan has drawn criticism that increasing immigration targets merely boosts economic output without raising living standards for individuals. Population gains have boosted hiring and consumption, helping the economy withstand a rate-hike campaign by the Bank of Canada - so much so that the central bank this month had to resume tightening after a pause. Now, as people flow into the country like never before, Canada has an immediate challenge: how to propel growth in rural regions in dire need of newcomers while minimizing the strains to urban centers already bulging with people. “In order to expand our agricultural, industrial and technological base, we need more people to come here.” “We have lots of space for people to come and occupy,” said Usha George, a professor in Canadian immigration policy at Toronto Metropolitan University. similar in size by land, but home to about eight times the population and almost 12 times the gross domestic product. It also reflects a longer-term ambition for Canada to expand its international presence and emerge from the shadow of the neighboring U.S. Last week, Canada surpassed 40 million people for the first time ever - with growth only expected to continue at a rapid pace as it welcomes more immigrant workers, refugees and foreign students across its borders.įor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration, the massive immigration experiment is a way to broaden the labour market as global competition for skilled workers intensifies. ![]() At a time industrialized countries around the world are confronting declining birth rates and aging workforces, Canada is at the forefront of betting on immigration to stave off economic decline.Ī country about as populous as California has added more than all the residents in San Francisco in a year.
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