{"id":3194,"date":"2024-02-29T03:05:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T03:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/?p=3194"},"modified":"2024-02-29T03:05:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T03:05:47","slug":"the-population-planners-goofed-temporary-immigration-up-nearly-50-in-2023-report-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/?p=3194","title":{"rendered":"The Population Planners Goofed: Temporary immigration up nearly 50% in 2023, report finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Temporary immigration up nearly 50% in 2023, report finds<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>National Post<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>28 Feb 2024<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>FR\u00c9D\u00c9RIC TOMESCO ftomesco@postmedia.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/t.prcdn.co\/img?regionKey=vH868moWnNK0b3ygcMv7Iw%3d%3d\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault has called on Ottawa to cut the number of asylum seekers arriving in the province.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>THERE\u2019S A JUMP IN TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION AND AN IMPRESSION THAT QUEBEC HAS LOST CONTROL, THAT WE WEREN\u2019T PREPARED IN AREAS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SUCH AS HOUSING OR PUBLIC SERVICES. MAYBE THE CO-ORDINATION (WITH<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OTTAWA) HAS BEEN LACKING. \u2014 EMNA BRAHAM, IDQ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities in Canada and Quebec underestimated the effect temporary immigration would have on housing and public services over the past decade, a new study suggests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quebec\u2019s temporary resident population soared 46 per cent last year to 528,034, according to a report published Monday by the Institut du Qu\u00e9bec (IDQ) non-profit think tank, which compiled Statistics Canada data. Quebec had 167,435 temporary work permit holders in 2023, almost four times as many as in 2015, as well as 117,745 foreign students \u2014 most of whom have the right to work here \u2014 and asylum seekers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Surging immigration numbers have become a hot-button issue in Quebec, with Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault calling on Ottawa to cut the number of asylum seekers arriving in the province because not enough of them speak French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the issues surrounding immigration can be traced back to an easing of regulations in 2022 that accelerated the delivery of temporary work permits in Quebec, IDQ economists write in their report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of talk about immigration in the last few weeks and we thought it was important to underline the impacts on the job market that are often looked at only in silos,\u201d IDQ executive director Emna Braham, who co-authored the study, said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immigration policies \u201care generally well designed, but when governments decided to put in place a series of simplifications a few years ago, they failed to anticipate their cumulative impact,\u201d Braham added. \u201cToday, there\u2019s a jump in temporary immigration and an impression that Quebec has lost control, that we weren\u2019t prepared in areas such as housing or public services. Maybe the co-ordination (with Ottawa) has been lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Temporary immigration programs lack precise limits, the IDQ economists write. A dearth of detailed data that would shed light on the economic effect of the measures means authorities can\u2019t adequately monitor them, the authors add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immigration was the sole source of growth in Quebec\u2019s labour pool between 2015 and 2023 as many baby boomers retired, the IDQ report shows. About 272,000 permanent immigrants entered the workforce during the period, as well as 112,000 temporary residents, while 54,000 Canadian-born workers exited the province\u2019s labour pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New arrivals explain why Quebec gained about 100,000 working-age individuals last year, the study says. That\u2019s almost triple the 39,000 average annual increase recorded between 2015 and 2022. Unlike permanent immigration, which is capped at about 50,000 people a year, Quebec has set no limits on temporary residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The surge in temporary immigration over the past year has coincided with an economic slowdown. Quebec\u2019s unemployment rate rose from four per cent to 4.5 per cent in the year ended in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Temporary immigrants come here through two main channels: the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which allows Quebec employers to bring people in to fill vacant positions, and Ottawa\u2019s International Mobility Program, which combines various mechanisms for welcoming temporary residents such as foreign graduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With 107,615 permit holders as of last year, the International Mobility Program is the biggest source of temporary foreign workers in the province. The problem is, it doesn\u2019t specifically aim to fill vacant jobs, IDQ economists write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for Quebec\u2019s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, it generated 59,820 temporary immigrants last year. Twenty-three per cent of participants were agricultural workers. So far, neither tool has allowed Quebec to fill vacant positions in health care and construction \u2014 critical shortcomings as the population ages and authorities scramble to tackle the housing crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the past year, we\u2019ve seen a major drop in vacant positions across Quebec, but the number in health care has barely budged,\u201d Braham said. \u201cThere are attractiveness issues, including wages and working conditions, but the fact is we are seeing few temporary immigrants active in health care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way for Quebec to alleviate pressing labour shortages would be to focus future international recruitment missions on health care and construction, Braham says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities should also put greater emphasis on recognizing foreign degrees and worker competencies in these two fields, she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe good news is that the levers exist, partly in Quebec City and partly in Ottawa, to adjust (immigration) policies,\u201d Braham said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Article Name:Temporary immigration up nearly 50% in 2023, report finds<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Publication:National Post<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Author:FR\u00c9D\u00c9RIC TOMESCO ftomesco@postmedia.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Temporary immigration up nearly 50% in 2023, report finds THERE\u2019S A JUMP IN TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION AND AN IMPRESSION THAT QUEBEC HAS LOST CONTROL, THAT WE WEREN\u2019T PREPARED IN AREAS SUCH AS HOUSING OR PUBLIC SERVICES. MAYBE THE CO-ORDINATION (WITH OTTAWA) HAS BEEN LACKING. \u2014 EMNA BRAHAM, IDQ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Authorities in Canada and Quebec underestimated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2347,2346,2345,2344],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3194"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3195,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3194\/revisions\/3195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}