Canada immigration minister has stated that the country requires more immigrants to overcome labour shortages and demographic trends that are threatening the country’s future.
In an interview with the Canadian Press, the minister stated that if Canada does not maintain its ambitious immigration targets and bring in more people of working age and young families, our challenges will not be about labour shortages, years from now.
He stated that they will be centred on our capacity to pay for hospitals and schools.
The announcement comes only a few weeks after the liberal administration launched a new immigration plan that will allow Canada to absorb 500,000 immigrants each year by 2025. Data for 2022 show that 431,645 people entered Canada as permanent residents.
Fraser stated in the interview that a big proportion of the new permanent immigrants previously resided in Canada. For example, 157,000 international students will become citizens in 2021.
It’s not like there are half a million people coming to Canada who aren’t already here, the minister said.
The Express Entry system will also be improved in the spring, according to the immigration minister, so that immigrants may be picked based on the industry and region they will be relocating to in Canada.
According to him, this will alleviate some of the strain on services like as housing and health care.
The minister ignored the concerns of the private sector and corporate behemoths who are apparently anti-immigration, claiming that he reached the decision on immigration strategy based on advice from department officials. The immigration idea is being implemented as Canadian business organisations call for the government to help fill vacancies caused by persistent labour shortages.
