A plan to welcome a record number of immigrants to Canada includes bringing in needed workers, but experts and employers say more could be done to help newcomers arrive and thrive in their new home.
The push comes as Canada is dealing with a shortage of workers.
“If we don’t have immigration, our workforce will not grow,” said Anil Verma, professor emeritus of industrial relations and human resources management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Canada is aiming to welcome 500,000 newcomers in 2025, and one of the goals is to help fill jobs with skilled workers. (Patrick Morrell/CBC)
According to the government’s fall economic statement, “Immigration is core to our identity as Canadians, while also being a key driver of Canada’s economic growth.”
In its fall economic statement, Ottawa said ‘immigration is core to our identity as Canadians, while also being a key driver of Canada’s economic growth.’ (Olivier Hyland/CBC)
Ottawa could be ‘bolder’
The federal government is aiming for roughly 60 per cent of newcomers to be in the economic class — people coming to Canada for their work skills as well as their accompanying family members — in 2025.
Dennis Darby, president and chief executive officer of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), said his trade association members are “very thankful” for what the government is doing.
“That’s how we’re going to get the next generation of people that we need.”
A view of a portion of Toronto’s financial district is seen in a file photo from last December. The Business Council of Canada, an advocacy group that represents scores of leaders across a range of industries, believes Ottawa could have set ‘bolder’ immigration targets than it has announced. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
The Business Council of Canada (BCC), an advocacy group that represents business leaders across a range of industries, also supports the approach, but believes Ottawa could be “bolder” in its recruitment goals.
“Directionally, we’re happy with where the government is going,” said Trevor Neiman, the council’s director of policy and legal counsel.
Both the BCC and CME support seeing even more workers join the country and the economy.
No matter how large that cohort is, however, Verma points out that the process of moving to another country to start a new life — and securing employment — doesn’t happen overnight.
That means the full impact these incoming workers will have on the labour market won’t be realized immediately.
“The math on filling job vacancies is very tricky, and I think should not be the basis for long-term immigration policy,” said Verma, pointing to economic growth and nation building as being more relevant factors.
‘A bumpy ride’
Samitaa Chahal knows how hard the journey to a new life in Canada can be.
She left India and landed in Ontario just two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down in March 2020.
Chahal found herself on her own and trying to make sense of the chaos. That included finding a job amid a world turned upside-down.
Samitaa Chahal moved to Canada just before the pandemic shut down both borders and business as usual. She persevered, finding a job at a difficult time and learning the quirks of the domestic job market. (Submitted by Samitaa Chahal)
Despite having a background in marketing and communications, her first job here was at a long-term care home.
Six months later, she found another job, and has since moved into a position as an instructional designer in the learning and development field — one that she chose over a rival job offer.
Chahal remembers the pride she felt in being able to “pick and choose what I want to do and not [from] what life throws at me.”
“It’s been a bumpy ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.
Many skills in demand
The federal government says its immigration plan will help Canadian businesses find people needed in key sectors, including in health care, building trades, manufacturing, and science, technology, education and math (STEM).
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says targeted draws will be used next year to bring applicants with the most in-demand skills to specific regions where they are needed. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has said targeted draws will be used next year to bring applicants with the most in-demand skills to specific regions where they’re needed.
The minister told Reuters that a key focus will be on recruiting doctors and nurses, in provinces that will work to ensure these newcomers’ credentials are recognized quickly.
In terms of the manufacturing sector, the CME’s Darby said there’s high demand for both skilled and general labour, with more than 80,000 unfilled positions across Canada.
More competition for people
The BCC says its members — which include banks, mining companies and other large employers — have signalled immigration is key for finding needed personnel.
Ottawa says its immigration plan will help Canadian businesses find people for key sectors that include health care, building trades and manufacturing. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Two-thirds of the respondents said they recruited staff directly via immigration, while the BCC said the rest hired immigrants who were already living here.
Neiman said Canada has benefited greatly from immigration for years and it remains one of Ottawa’s strongest tools for addressing labour shortages.
But he said the country now faces more intense competition for people as other nations also face labour shortages.
“Canada really needs to step up its game in order to maintain its advantage,” he said.
Ottawa appears to be listening: In its fall economic statement, the government said it would earmark $50 million in additional funding to deal with current backlogs and other issues impeding newcomers’ speedy entry to Canada.
LISTEN | Immigration and the labour shortage:
CBC News: The House9:38Will half a million immigrants ease Canada’s labour woes?
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has announced a record new target for immigration. Experts Mikal Skuterud and Michael Haan discuss the measures of success for Canada’s immigration policies.
Asked about competition the country faces for talent, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it could “not speculate” on what other nations are doing to attract newcomers.
“The level of immigration to Canada is a policy choice that needs to balance the benefits of immigration with the costs of delivering the program and capacity of our infrastructure,” the department said in an email.
Challenges after arriving
Sweta Regmi, founder and CEO of Teachndo Career Consultancy in Sudbury, Ont., sees many newcomers lacking support in navigating the Canadian job market.
Canada adds 108,000 jobs in October, unemployment steady at 5.2%
Canada’s economy added 108,000 jobs in October, roughly 10 times what was expected. Still, an unexpectedly hot job market isn’t enough to bring down the overall cost of living.
“The gap … is in teaching you how to do the job search,” said Regmi, a certified career and resume strategist, who sees a persistent issue that she also faced during her own immigration journey two decades ago.
There are programs that provide assistance to people, but Regmi said they are not always well matched to the needs of incoming job seekers.
Chahal found that same process to be a particular challenge as she worked to learn the quirks in a job market that she found more rigid in its hiring practices as compared to India.
A group of condo towers are seen during a foggy day in downtown Toronto on Thursday. Any newcomers coming to Canada need somewhere to live. Finding affordable housing is an increasing challenge in the country. (Carlos Osorio/CBC)
Fraser, the immigration minister, told Reuters that Canada will focus on welcoming more skilled construction workers to help build new housing supply and on selecting newcomers for areas with the “absorptive capacity” to take them.
IRCC said “having adequate investment in settlement, housing and public services is paramount to not only the newcomers’ long-term success, but also in ensuring we are delivering the same level of services to all Canadians.”
Mikal Skuterud, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo, told CBC’s The House it’s “relatively easy” for the government to quickly increase the number of newcomers as compared to its ability to rapidly grow the stock of available housing.
Skuterud expects the relative price of housing across regions will be a factor in where many people decide to live.
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
