Canada Needs More Immigrants
April 14, 2010
The Conference Board of Canada's chief economist warned Tuesday that Canada needs to increase the number of immigrants allowed into the country by at least 100,000 per year and boost worker productivity in order to maintain the solvency of pensions.
Speaking at the Conference Board's Summit on the Future of Pensions, Glen Hodgson said that slow labor force growth in the coming decades will mean fewer workers contributing to pension plans, but more retirees drawing from them. With Baby Boomers nearing retirement, Canada does not have any where near the same numbers of job entrants born in the country to replace them. "We'll have fewer workers coming in to feed the system," said Hodgson, adding that this will "suck the life out of our economy," and that "lower labor growth means slower economic growth."
Currently, Canada allows about 250,000 immigrants per year into the country, and with older population and an ongoing trend in smaller families, immigration is predicted to be Canada' only source of population growth by about 2030.
While immigration by itself will not reverse the country's "aging trend," it can maintain a stable population growth of about one percent per year, said the economist. Immigration is have to become the country's dominant source of labor growth, he said. Along with increasing immigration, Hodgson said the government will need to implement policies that boost productivity, encourage the development of a more skilled workforce, and encourage older people to work longer.
