Opportunity for Canada to optimize its immigration policies with the upcoming federal elections

The forthcoming federal election of Canada on September 20 provides an opportunity to consider the fate of the country’s immigration system. Political parties are presently campaigning throughout Canada, laying out their perspective on how Canada should be run. The country’s succeeding government will be given a four-year mandate to govern. Immigration will be one of the most important policy areas in the next four years and beyond.

Canada’s prosperity is becoming increasingly reliant on immigration. Immigration is the primary source of population and labor force growth in Canada, and it is also contributing to the country’s economic growth. The aging population and declining birth rate in Canada contribute to the country’s reliance on immigration. Because they depend on vital government-funded services like health care, an aging population is more expensive to care for. In addition, older people spend less than younger people, resulting in lower business growth.

In Canada’s scenario, the population growth is insufficient to replace the population and retiring workers, implying that younger Canadians will face a greater tax liability as well as an economic burden in terms of generating government revenue through their labor market participation and personal spending on products and services.

Although immigration doesn’t really address all of these problems, it does help to alleviate the monetary and social strains brought on by Canada’s demographic realities. The Canadian government acknowledges this, which is why newcomer arrivals are on the rise. Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan, which runs from 2021 to 2023, aims to welcome at least 401,000 new immigrants per year, making it the most aspirational plan in the nation’s history. Only once before, in 1913, did Canada receive such a large number of immigrants. With immigration set to become a more dominant feature, now is a great time to figure out how Canada can optimize what is already undoubtedly the world’s finest immigration system.

It is clear that Canada must resolve some urgent COVID-related immigration problems. There are also other issues that are not immediate priorities but are nonetheless important and worthy of investigation.