Growing Canada’s future economy an ‘impossibility’ without immigration

In Canadian Immigration summit, Ottawa Canadian Federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Without Immigration ability to grow Canadian Economy would become Impossible. Canada says Immigration can help them off set the challenges caused by the ageing population. It says one percent of Canadian Immigrant population by 2030 can give to annual GDP rate of 1.9 per cent that year.

Hussen said there could be gaps in terms of working Canadians and people getting retired these gap need to be maintained or without Immigrants they could widen. Canada’s multi-level Immigration plan will increase population rate by 0.9 per cent by the year 2020. He said 6 per cent of Immigration will be in the economic class to fill the labour market gaps as well as skill gaps.

He said changes like the number of bonus points for a job offer reduced, among other changes   brought by the Federal Government in the Express Entry has seen a remarkable shift towards the increase of number of Invitations specially towards Federal Skill Worker Class.

Immigrants represent significant part of high skilled labour jobs about 50 per cent in Mathematics, Science, Technology and Engineering.

Hussen, also said in Atlantic Provinces of Canada which includes New Brunswick. Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are seeing a decline in population. In Newfoundland and Labrador the ratio of leaving workforce is more than joining workforce that gap needs to be met.

The Atlantic Province has an Atlantic Immigration Program which is Employer driven and these provinces need to meet the quota only then they can talk PNP. This AIP program will also allow the candidates to bring their family members and have settlement plan for them. The focus is to keep a skilled Immigrant through family settlement plan, if families are settled then it is difficult for a skilled immigrant to move away from Atlantic province.

Lastly, Hussen asked its people to do whatever it can do in their own spaces to push back the anti-immigrants sentiments emerging worldwide as it would be very helpful. Hussen said he is asking this as a Canadian not on behalf of the Canadian government.