Skuterud, who has been a vocal critic of the federal government’s immigration policy, says the benefits of high immigration have been exaggerated by the Liberals.
He said that starting around 2015, when the Liberal government was first elected, a narrative developed in Canada that “immigration was kind of a solution to Canada’s economic growth problems.”
While the professor says that narrative is one that people like to believe, he notes higher immigration does little when it comes to increasing living standards, as measured by real GDP per capita.
Of course it is. More people more demand.
They also contribute to a stronger economy, which is why the government allows the immigration.
Except …
However, attention is now shifting from these targets to the steep rise in non-permanent residents. Between July and October, about three-quarters of Canada’s population growth came from temporary residents, including international students and temporary foreign workers.
That trend is raising alarms about the increase in businesses’ reliance on low-wage migrant workers and the luring of international student by shady post-secondary institutions.
Mikal Skuterud, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo who specializes in immigration policy, says the federal government appears to have “lost control” of temporary migration flows.
A strong economy is great, but not at the expense of even a middling quality of life for those within it.
A strong economy generally means a better quality of life in general.
The real solution is more housing, more density. Etc.
Ahh immigration - the most sensational, convenient, uncritical, and least interesting aspect of the housing affordability issue in Canada. Seems on-brand for CBC
