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Canada caught in ‘population trap’: Report
The report highlighted that Canada's population experienced its highest-ever annual increase.
Canada Flag / Image - Unsplash
Economists have warned that Canada is "caught in a population trap" due to the excessive influx of newcomers, despite the growing anti-immigration climate in the country.
“Canada is caught in a population trap that has historically been the preserve of emerging economies. We currently lack the infrastructure and capital stock in this country to absorb current population growth and improve our standard of living,” according to a National Bank of Canada report authored by economists Stefane Marion and Alexandra Ducharme.
The report emphasized that in 2023, Canada's population reached a record-breaking 1.2 million, marking its highest-ever annual increase. For the first time since Newfoundland's admission to the Federation in 1949, the population grew by more than 600,000 in a single year.
The National Bank of Canada underlined that the country’s annual total population growth should not exceed 300,000 to 500,000 in order “to escape the population trap.” There are approximately 2.5 million temporary residents in Canada, primarily individuals holding study or work permits, the news outlet Globe and Mail reported, citing Statistics Canada data.
Immigrants from India constitute nearly 30 percent of newcomers across various categories in Canada. In 2022, they represented 118,224 individuals, making up nearly 27 percent of the total 437,539 permanent residents admitted.
This percentage increases in temporary categories. As per data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), until the end of November 2023, Indian nationals accounted for 215,910 out of a total of 579,075, which is over 37 percent, in the category of study permits. Up until October 2023, there were 828,335 temporary work permits issued, with Indians comprising 247,495, or about 30 percent of the total.
According to a recent survey conducted by Nanos Research for the news outlet CTV, 61 percent of respondents expressed a desire for Ottawa to admit fewer immigrants into the country this year compared to 2023. This reflects an eight percent increase in the number of individuals favoring reduced immigration since September 2023. Additionally, the proportion of those advocating for an increase in the number of immigrants continues to decline, with only five percent supporting more immigration in 2023, compared to 17 percent in 2020.
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