As the federal government prepares to unveil its immigration targets for the next three years, new research finds immigrants to Canada are increasingly leaving this country for opportunities elsewhere.
The number of immigrants who left Canada surged in 2017 and 2019, according to a study conducted by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada. Those spikes represent an increase of 31 per cent above the historical average.
Even excluding those two years, however, the study found onward migration, or the process whereby someone moves on from a country they immigrated to and settles again elsewhere, has steadily increased since the 1980s. Among people who arrived in the ‘80s, the average cumulative onward migration rate was 18 per cent. That number rose to 21 per cent among people granted permanent residence in the first half of the 1990s.
“Canada’s future prosperity depends on immigration,” the study reads, citing past research by the Conference Board of Canada that has shown immigration leads to GDP growth, improves the worker-to-retiree ratio and eases labour shortages that add to inflation. Welcoming newcomers also helps fulfill Canada’s humanitarian goals.
“The benefits of immigration are realized over the time that immigrants spend in Canada—the longer they stay, the more they benefit and contribute. Immigrants who thrive are more likely to stay.”
The study found immigrants to Canada are most likely to migrate again four to seven years after arriving here, suggesting that positive early experiences may be key to enticing immigrants to stay here.For these reasons, the authors urged the federal government to make retaining newcomers a top priority.
“For Canada to meet its immigration goals, the country must not only attract newcomers but also retain them. Yet few attempts have been made to evaluate Canada’s immigrant retention rate,” the study reads.
“Retention should be a key performance indicator for Canada’s immigration strategy, given the central role that immigration is meant to play in supporting population and economic growth.”
WHY STAY?
In order to chart the best course forward, the authors said policymakers need to understand the factors that influence onward migration.
These can include economic integration; a sense of belonging; racism; homeownership, or lack thereof; and immigration and economic opportunities in other countries. The study also points out that many people who immigrate to Canada are likely to face significant career setbacks if they can’t find work that matches their qualifications and professional expertise. It can take years to recover from these setbacks, if they ever do recover.
In order to improve the quality of life and prospects for immigrants in Canada, the authors suggested multiple levels of government work together to monitor the onward migration rate among immigrants, invest in settlement services and other programs that ease the process of immigrating to Canada, help employers hire and retain immigrant workers and invest in infrastructure improvements that improve communities in general.
“Investments in early positive experiences may help reduce overall levels of onward migration,” the study reads.
“Initiatives that foster a sense of belonging and attachment to Canada, together with policies that ensure immigrants and their families have opportunities for personal and career growth, could influence more immigrants to decide to stay in Canada.”
The research comes amid a fresh burst of discourse around immigration in this country.
Canada’s population surpassed 40 million people this year after rising by more than one million in 2022. A Statistics Canada report published in late September found 98 per cent of that growth came from net international migration.
In light of this growth, paired with what many experts have labelled a housing crisis, the federal government is grappling with whether its current immigration targets are sustainable.
Last year, Ottawa said it aimed to admit 500,000 permanent residents annually by 2025. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller is expected to reveal whether Canada plans to maintain that target when he releases the federal government’s updated immigration levels plan on Wednesday.
The report outlines key measures intended to strengthen the immigration system, including plans to take housing, health care, infrastructure and other services into account when planning immigration levels.
Public opinion around immigration has also begun to shift after decades of steady support for immigrants.
According to the latest Focus Canada public research survey conducted by the Toronto-based Environics Institute, a growing proportion of Canadians is sharing the belief that the current rate of immigration to Canada is too high, citing concerns about how newcomers might impact the availability of affordable housing.
The finding reflects a dramatic shift since last year, when public support for immigration numbers stood at an all-time high.
“Canadians are still more likely to disagree than agree that immigration levels are too high, but the gap between these two opposing views has shrunk over the past 12 months, from 42 percentage points to just seven,” the report reads.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
