Canada needs to remain competitive on the immigration playing field

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are now in full swing, with athletes, and their nations, competing on the world stage. Almost as exciting as the events are the fresh television commercials from proud Canadian sponsors celebrating Canada’s extraordinary cultural diversity – which is built through immigration.  

Air Canada drives the point home in “Ticket to Dream,” a portrayal of the immigration journey of a couple from Jamaica, whose Canadian daughter we see taking a once-in-a-lifetime flight to Paris to compete in the Games. It’s an emotional two-and-a-half minutes, showing just how much people risk in pursuit of a brighter future in Canada.

Canada is home to people from around the world, who all contribute to our pride and success. But attracting global talent is a race, complete with hurdles, and Canada faces several challenges to its position as a prime destination for the world’s best and brightest.  

• Worsening affordability, mainly related to the cost of housing, is making headlines. This issue affects the ability for all immigrants to afford the life they dream of in Canada and settle and integrate effectively. A recent survey by Angus Reid found that immigrants are considering onward migration within or out of Canada due to economic pressures, mainly related to housing.  

• Foreign credential recognition is another challenge. Despite their expertise, these professionals often struggle to obtain the necessary credentials to practice in their fields, which forces many into lower-skilled jobs or prolonged periods of unemployment, which hinders not just them but their families. More progress on this issue is needed.

• Natural birth rates have been in decline in North America and other high-GDP countries for decades, and now they are slowing around the world. The effect of declining birth rates in typical sending countries on Canadian immigration has yet to be seen demographically, but it will no doubt add pressure to the quest of attracting skilled immigrants in the decades to come, as working-age populations shrink.

• Other countries are growing in prosperity, and offering competition to the stability, freedom and career opportunities immigrants to Canada identify as the Canadian dream.  The growth of advanced economies means we are competing with other nations for the people who will ultimately drive our economy and society forward.  

The Games remind us of why it’s important Canada remains competitive on the immigration playing field. For decades, Canada has owned the podium when it came to offering foreign-trained professionals a promising future. We have a chance to retain our standing if we maintain our economic growth, recently improved labour market outcomes for recent immigrants and global livability rankings – and our national pride in our cultural tapestry.

‍