THE RISING IMPORTANCE OF

IMMIGRANTS
Don Drummond, SVP & Chief Economist
November 27, 2009
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LABOUR FORCE GROWTH
TO SLOW

Canadian la
4
3
PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN
CANADA HAS BEEN ABYSMAL IN
THE LAST HALF DECADE

Canadian la
4
4
POTENTIAL GDP IS IN LONG
RUN DECLINE

Average
8%
5
DIRE PREDICTIONS OF SKILLED
LABOUR SHORTAGES

NO: demand and supply will adjust

But: takes time and money

Wages will rise

Capital substituted for labour
Production shifted to other markets
Recruitment from non-traditional pools (more training)
Retention of older workers
Better use of under-represented workers
If all else fails, growth will be slower

6
 IMMIGRATION BECOMING
INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT
IMMIGRATION

Immigra
7
 CONCENTRATING IN URBAN
CENTERS

C
IMMIGRATION

8
 BUT LABOUR MARKET
OUTCOMES ARE VERY POOR

Labour fo
100
IMMIGRATION

Very
9
 MORE IMMIGRANTS WORK
PART-TIME INVOLUNTARILY

% of empl
45
IMMIGRATION

10
 OR ARE HIRED ON A
TEMPORARY BASIS

Temporar
18
IMMIGRATION

11
 AND THE EARNINGS GAP
HAS BEEN GROWING
IMMIGRATION

Real m
12
 EVEN WORSE FOR THOSE
WITH UNIVERSITY DEGREES
IMMIGRATION

Real m
13
 IMPORTANT NON-WAGE BENEFITS
ARE LOWER FOR IMMIGRANTS

Benefits fr
70
IMMIGRATION

14
 MANY IMMIGRANTS WELL
EDUCATED
IMMIGRATION

15
 BUT THEIR SKILLS ARE
UNDERUTILIZED

Overquali
80
IMMIGRATION

16
 EARLIER GENERATIONS COULD
HOPE TO CLOSE THE GAP, NEW
IMMIGRANTS MAY OR MAY NOT
IMMIGRATION

Earnings
17
 IMMIGRANT SOURCE COUNTRIES
HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME
IMMIGRATION

18
 LANGUAGE APPEARS TO BE A
DOMINANT PROBLEM
IMMIGRATION

19
 SPECIFICALLY REGARDING
ENTRANCE INTO THE WORKFORCE
IMMIGRATION

20
 EVIDENT IN THE PRESENCE OF
NON-OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
IMMIGRATION

Mother t
100 21
 LITERACY PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN
ADAPTING TO THE WORKPLACE
IMMIGRATION

Prose liter
50
22
 AND IS STRONGLY CORRELATED
WITH PERSONAL INCOME
IMMIGRATION

Pe
23
 INCIDENCE OF LOW INCOME ARE
HIGHEST AMONG IMMIGRANT
CHILDREN

Incidence
35
IMMIGRATION

24
 CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS HAVE
HIGH EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

Educatio
100
IMMIGRATION

25
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM
THE AUDITOR GENERAL

The composition of immigration targets within the

Economic Class should be clearly defined over a multi-

year period to ensure the needs of Canadas labour market
are satisfied
In an effort to reduce inventories of Federal Skilled Worker

applications, changes were made to the application

process without sufficient policy analysis:
How was the list of 38 eligible occupations compiled?
It is not clear that these changes to the eligibility criteria have made a
substantive difference in reducing the number of applications.

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 ABORIGINALS THE YOUNGEST
AND FASTING GROWING
POPULATION IN CANADA
ABORIGINAL

Populat
27
 BUT CONTINUE TO FACE
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
ABORIGINAL

Unemploy
28
 SIGNIFICANT GAP BETWEEN
ON-RESERVE AND
OFF-RESERVE ABORIGINALS
ABORIGINAL

Aborigina
29
 EDUCATION IS
EXCEEDINGLY IMPORTANT

Employm
ABORIGINAL

100 30
ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

Raising employment & incomes among aboriginals and immigrants

is a high priority

Canadian corporations cannot afford to underutilize the nations

diverse talent pool

Language and literacy programs will be key, specifically for

employers

Foreign experience/credential recognition is a necessity

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