New Quebec Action Plan Aims To Boost Immigration To Regions

Colin Singer
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New Quebec Action Plan Aims To Boost Immigration To Regions

Canada immigration news: Quebec is aiming to boost the settlement of immigrants in the francophone province’s outlying regions under a new plan unveiled by provincial Immigration Minister Jean Boulet Monday.

“There are undeniable advantages for immigrants in the regions, including welcoming, close-knit communities, jobs, a great quality of life and more,” said Boulet in French in a statement.

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“By redoubling our efforts and working together towards common goals with all of the stakeholders in the regions, we will be able to attain those goals more quickly and easily. By creating the most favourable conditions for immigration in the regions, we are also strengthening Quebec’s economy.”

Montreal The Big Magnet For Immigrants To Quebec

Last year, 50,280 new permanent residents to Canada settled in Quebec, almost exactly double the 25,225 that arrived in 2020 and almost 24 per cent more than the 40,565 new permanent residents that came to the province in 2019, the last full year before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the upswing in immigration to the province, though, most of the regions are seeing little benefit from these new arrivals because the vast majority gravitate to the big cities of Montreal and Quebec.

In 2021, Montreal swallowed up 80.3 per cent of all new permanent residents to the province. Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois Rivières, and the Gatineau area just across from Ottawa together accounted for another 13.7 per cent of all new permanent residents to Quebec that year. 

That means those five urban areas accounted for 47,240 new permanent residents to the province last year, roughly 93.9 per cent of immigration to Quebec in 2021.

The entire rest of the province attracted only 3,040 new permanent residents, or about six per cent of the total, last year. 

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With the plan announced Monday, Quebec’s immigration department, the Ministre de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI), wants to promote the advantages of these regions to immigrants, nurture the development of non-profit groups offering settlement services to them in those regions, and put in place a process to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy.

Quebec is hoping to boost both the number of immigrants seeking permanent residence and the arrival of temporary residents, particularly those coming under the International Mobility Program (IMP) for jobs outside Greater Montreal.

The province also wants to increase the number of spaces outside of Montreal under its Collective Sponsorship program and it is looking to a regional immigration pilot like the highly-successful Atlantic Immigration Pilot. 

By collecting information on those immigrants who leave Greater Montreal to settle in the regions, the province is hoping to better understand what brought them there and so identify opportunities to better promote the region. 

Quebec Sees Immigration As Vital To Fixing Labour Shortages

Quebec is also planning to boost its credential recognition programs in the outlying regions to help immigrants settle there more quickly and land jobs. 

It is currently one of the provinces hardest hit by labour shortages and many companies are struggling for a want of qualified applicants to fill jobs which are going begging.

Five months ahead of the next provincial election in Quebec, four business groups lobbied the political parties last week to boost immigration by as much as 90 per cent.

The Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ) manufacturing and exporting industry association, the Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ) employers’ group, the Fédération des Chambres de Commerce du Québec (FCCQ) association of chambers of commerce, and the Fédération Canadienne de l’Entreprise Indépendante (FCEI) association of independent businesses, want more immigration to fix the province’s severe labour shortage.

“We know the labour shortages cannot be fixed in the blink of an eye and it will take a series of strategies working in tandem to reduce the impact of the lack of workers,” said MEQ president Véronique Proulx.

“With a Quebec provincial election (scheduled to take place on or before Oct. 3), it is important for us to inform political parties about the need to put in place solid strategies to grow the pool of workers and maintain Quebec’s competitive advantage.”

Quebec Businesses Call For Immigration To Almost Double Amid Labour Shortage

Colin Singer
-
0
Quebec Businesses Call For Immigration To Almost Double Amid Labour Shortage

Canada immigration news: Quebec business and industry groups want to almost double immigration to resolve labour shortages, but a separatist opposition party in the francophone province is throwing cold water on the idea.

Last year, 50,280 new permanent residents to Canada settled in that province. 

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Business leaders want that that greatly increased to help resolve the province’s massive labour shortages. The reported consensus among industry groups is for Quebec to welcome 80,000 immigrants every year. 

Four Business Organizations Call For Immigration Boost

Véronique Proulx, president of the Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ) manufacturing and exporting industry association, has reportedly called for the province to receive as many as 90,000 immigrants annually.

“We know the labour shortages cannot be fixed in the blink of an eye and it will take a series of strategies working in tandem to reduce the impact of the lack of workers,” Proulx said in a statement in French.

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Last week, MEQ and three other business associations, the Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ) employers’ group, the Fédération des Chambres de Commerce du Québec (FCCQ) association of chambers of commerce, and the Fédération Canadienne de l’Entreprise Indépendante (FCEI) association of independent businesses, lobbied the provincial political parties to take a series of measures to resolve the labour shortages.

Immigration was among them.

“With a Quebec provincial election (scheduled to take place on or before Oct. 3), it is important for us to inform political parties about the need to put in place solid strategies to grow the pool of workers and maintain Quebec’s competitive advantage,” said Proulx.

Parti Québécois Leader Nixes Notion of Higher Immigration

Not so fast, says the Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

Although it now only holds a small fraction of the seats in the provincial legislature, the PQ still holds disproportionate influence in Quebecois society as it has previously formed the government.

And it’s rejecting the call for more immigration to the province.

Instead, St-Pierre Plamondon wants a debate on immigration “based on science and not on ideology or false premises.”

“The simple fact of asking questions about raising immigration quotas raises implications about the intolerance of those bringing them up, which creates an atmosphere that is not serene,” he reportedly said.

But Quebec society must make its own decisions about immigration and answer for itself whether or not more immigration will in fact create more wealth and raise the per capita GDP, he said.

This is not the first time the PQ leader has tried to put the brakes on immigration.

In February, the federal government released its 2022-2024 Levels Plan in which it revealed Ottawa wants to welcome 431,645 permanent residents this year, 447,055 next year, and 451,000 in 2024.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the higher immigration levels would allow Canada to resolve its labour shortages and boost the national economy.

“We are focused on economic recovery, and immigration is the key to getting there,” said. “Setting bold new immigration targets, as outlined in the 2022-2024 Levels Plan, will further help bring the immeasurable contribution of immigrants to our communities and across all sectors of the economy.”

That didn’t sit well with St-Pierre Plamondon. 

He immediately fired off a letter to Quebec Premier François Legault, asking him if the province had been consulted about Canada’s new immigration targets.

PQ Fears Higher Immigration In Rest of Canada Will Water Down Quebec’s Demographic Clout

In that letter, the PQ leader also warned that higher levels of immigration to the rest of Canada could cut Quebec’s clout on the national political scene.

St-Pierre Plamondon noted Quebeckers now comprise only 23 per cent of the Canadian population, down from its previous level of 25 per cent. He warned that more immigrants in the rest of Canada could see Quebec comprise only 20 per cent of the Canadian population.

“Quebec is already in the position of being politically insignificant in the sense that to become prime minister of Canada, one no longer has to win over Quebec,” the leader of the separatist party reportedly said.

“Given the fragile state of francophones in North America, being part of a political structure that no longer needs to consider our interests to wield power, in view of the history of imperialism and colonialism in Canada towards francophones and indigenous people, the future is bleak for us if we remain a part of Canada.”

How Immigrant Workers Can Help Curb Canada’s Rising Inflation By Easing Labour Shortages

Colin Singer
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0
How Immigrant Workers Can Help Curb Canada’s Rising Inflation By Easing Labour Shortages

Canada immigration news: Inflation in Canada is reaching record highs driven at least in part by a serious labour shortage that is leading employers to offer higher and higher wages in desperate attempts to outbid one another for the few workers who are available.

“Wages for newly-hired employees are accelerating even as employers are accepting less-qualified workers,” wrote Philip Cross, a senior economist and Munk senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, in December last year.

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“Hiring workers at higher pay may seem positive for the economy, but can often translate into lower productivity which raises unit labour costs,” wrote Cross. “This reinforces the upward pressure on inflation while eroding our ability to compete with firms in the United States.”

The economist’s words have proven to be prophetic. 

Squeeze On Labour Drives Up Wages And Contributes To Inflation

When Cross penned his commentary, entitled Tightening Labour Markets Fuel Inflationary Pressures, the country’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had then just brought in a record number of immigrants, 405,970 new permanent residents in a single year, and was eagerly trying to attract immigrants and temporary foreign workers to come to Canada to fill jobs going begging for a lack of qualified candidates. 

Within two months, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced Canada would again try to attract a record number of immigrants this year – and for the next two as well.

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Under the immigration levels plan presented by the immigration minister, Canada plans to welcome 431,645 permanent residents this year, 447,055 next year, and 451,000 in 2024.

“We are focused on economic recovery, and immigration is the key to getting there,” said Fraser in February after announcing the latest immigration levels plan. “Setting bold new immigration targets, as outlined in the 2022-2024 Levels Plan, will further help bring the immeasurable contribution of immigrants to our communities and across all sectors of the economy.”

Three months after Cross warned of the inflationary pressure of too-tight a labour market, Canada’s unemployment rate dropped to only 5.3 percent in March, the lowest level since comparable data started being kept in 1976.

Canada’s Unemployment Rate Falls To Lowest Level In More Than 50 Years

People Nearing Retirement Outnumber Those Old Enough To Enter Labour Market

Source: Trading Economics

Canada now has the tightest labour market in more than half a century. And the country is also experiencing its highest rate of inflation in more than 30 years. 

“In March, Canadian consumer prices increased 6.7 percent year over year …. This was the largest increase since January 1991 (when inflation hit 6.9 percent),” reported Statistics Canada.

Inflation Rises To More Than 30-Year High In Canada

Inflation Rises To More Than 30-Year High In Canada

Source: Statistics Canada

In its Consumer Price Index report for March, the statistical and demographic services agency provided analysis of some of the underlying causes of this inflation. 

Statistics Canada blamed the high inflation rate on soaring housing costs and supply chain woes due to the Russia-Ukraine war which are driving up energy, agricultural, and commodity prices. 

But the impact of severe labour shortages on inflation did not go unnoticed.

By March This Year, Canadian Wages Had Risen 3.4% In Past Year

“Employment continued to strengthen in March, as the unemployment rate fell to a record low,” noted Statistics Canada. “In March, average hourly wages for employees rose 3.4 percent on a year-over-year basis.”

Labour is commonly regarded as one of the most significant costs for a business. Manufacturers can expect labour costs, which include not only wages but also benefits, payroll deductions and applicable taxes, to be almost 30 percent of their total costs. 

A service business can expect labour costs to be roughly 50 percent of costs – and, in some cases, up to as much as 70 percent of costs. 

When wages rise, those businesses have little choice but to pass on those costs or make drastic cuts elsewhere in their operations.

In many parts of Canada, those pay hikes are rising faster than inflation. In Nunavut, the median hourly wage rose by 12.5 percent in the past year. In Nova Scotia, the increase in median hourly wages was 10 percent, in New Brunswick 8.3 percent, and in the Northwest Territories almost 8.6 percent for the comparable period.

A big part of the reason for the labour shortages is the retirement of so many baby boomers, the huge chunk of Canadian society born between 1946 and 1964. They’re now aged between 58 and 76 years old and are gradually leaving the workforce, taking with them their education and work experience.

Baby Boomer Retirement A Ticking Time Bomb That Has Exploded

In a report released Apr. 28, Statistics Canada noted the impact of the steady stream of boomer retirements.

“Canada’s working-age population has never been older,” Statistics Canada reported. “More than one in five persons (21.8 percent) are close to retirement age (between 55 and 64 years), an all-time high in the history of Canadian censuses. 

“The aging of many baby boomer cohorts, the youngest of whom are between 56 and 64 years today, is accelerating population aging. There are challenges associated with an older workforce, including knowledge transfer, retaining experienced employees, and workforce renewal.”

People Nearing Retirement Outnumber Those Old Enough To Enter Labour Market

People Nearing Retirement Outnumber Those Old Enough To Enter Labour Market

Source: Statistics Canada.

Employers cannot expect Canadian-born workers to resolve these labour shortages anytime soon. There just aren’t enough children being born in Canada right now to make up for those boomers hitting retirement age.

“From 2016 to 2021, the number of children younger than 15 grew six times slower than the number of persons aged 65 and older,” reports Statistics Canada.

There are also fewer people aged 15 to 24 years of age who are likely to enter the workforce soon than there are boomers nearing retirement age.

Immigrants Rejuvenate Workforce And Help Alleviate Massive Labour Shortages

In a rapidly-aging workforce, immigration has a rejuvenating effect on the population, notes Statistics Canada. 

When immigration to Canada dropped to just under 185,000 new permanent residents in 2020, the share of young adults in the country’s population fell because immigrants and temporary residents are often young adults in their twenties or thirties when they arrive in Canada.

Employers hoping to hire a foreign national can avail themselves of this international talent and labour through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), and; the International Mobility Program (IMP).

Under normal circumstances, the Global Talent Stream (GTS), a part of the (TFWP), can lead to the granting of Canadian work permits and processing of visa applications within two weeks.

Employers can also bring in foreign nationals to fill available positions through the Express Entry system, which receives immigration applications online.

Applicants who meet eligibility criteria submit an online profile known as an Expression of interest (EOI), under one of three federal immigration programs or a participating provincial immigration program, to the Express Entry Pool.

The candidates’ profiles then are ranked against each other according to a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranked candidates are considered for ITAs for permanent residence. Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay processing fees within a delay of 90 days.

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