Canada’s economic expansion requirements for immigration
In the past two to three decades, migration from India has been uncommon. Prior to a decade ago, it was somewhat more prevalent, but only 15 to 20% of the Indian population had relatives living abroad. Currently, between 40 and 50 percent of Indians have relatives living outside the country. It is now very common to learn that a person’s spouse, aunt, uncle, parents, children, nieces, or nephews reside outside of India.
People choose to emigrate from India for a variety of reasons, including to earn a higher wage for their labour, to have a better standard of living, or merely to enjoy the work and life cultures of a foreign country. However, what could be the motivations of the nations that permit so many immigrants?
Justifications for countries to accept immigrants
There are a variety of reasons why a country might permit or even encourage immigration. However, there are three significant reasons for this:
Lack of qualified professionals: In a perfect world, every country would have qualified personnel in every field. However, this is not the case. Every nation confronts labour shortages in some sector or another, and there are occasionally occupations in which a select group of people can perform better than others. This is one of the fundamental reasons why any nation should welcome immigrants.
Cost-efficient: Typically, the countries that employ immigrant labour are developed nations. Employing skilled employees or professionals from abroad, particularly from Third World nations, is more cost-effective for these nations than employing their own citizens. The majority of large businesses and industries prefer to migrate their employees from India, China, and other locations. This significantly reduces the cost of recruiting and training new employees.
As immigration is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both the applicant and the nation, each country selects immigrants from the skill area in which it is experiencing a shortage, primarily skilled professionals. These professionals, in turn, not only benefit the company for which they work but also contribute significantly to the Canada’s economic development of their adopted country.
Nonetheless, ‘aging population’ is quickly becoming the leading reason why countries accept immigrants.
Using Canada as an example, Statistics Canada recently released the following data:
With the leading edge of the baby boom generation turning 65 in 2011, Canada’s population is aging.
- Canadian society is urbanizing as more people live in mid- to large-sized cities.
- One-person households are increasing due to higher divorce rates and longer life spans.
- As immigration continues to influence Canada's demographic profile, the population and labour force are becoming increasingly diverse.
According to the survey, all of the aforementioned national trends are present in British Columbia. In 2011, the median age of British Columbia residents was 41.9 years. The median age has gradually increased over the past four decades. Twenty years ago, it was 34.7, and in 1971, the average British Columbian was only 28. In 2011, nearly 700,000 of the province’s 4.4 million residents were 65 and older.
Immigration and the role it plays in reshaping the population are essential demographic developments that must be discussed. In terms of the proportion of admitted immigrants to the extant population, Canada ranks near the top globally. Canada welcomes between 240 000 and 260 000 permanent newcomers annually, excluding students and foreign temporary employees. According to the 2011 census, immigrants constitute 26% of British Columbia’s population and 41% of the Lower Mainland.
In light of the fact that the average Canadian is rapidly approaching retirement age, immigrants are the primary force behind Canada’s economic expansion. This is rapidly becoming one of the primary reasons why Canada and other nations are opting for skilled professional immigrants.
Encouragement measures for transient foreign workers:
In an effort to maintain Canada’s economic activity, the Canadian government has decided to continue processing visas under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) stream and assist Canadian employers during this pandemic.
Even though the Canadian government decided to close its borders to non-residents in response to the coronavirus outbreak, it decided to continue the TFWP category in order to assist Canadian industries like agriculture, agri-food, food processing, and transportation.
The TFWP is a program that permits Canadian industries with a labour shortage to employee foreign workers after ensuring that Canadian citizens and permanent residents have had the first opportunity to apply for these positions.
A temporary Canada work permit and a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) are required for those entering Canada under the TFWP. The LMIA is evidence that the employment of a foreign worker by a Canadian employer will have a positive or neutral effect on the local labour market.
Extending the validity of LMIA:
The validity period of LMIAs has been extended from six to nine months. The validity period is extended for applicants under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) and agricultural stream positions until December 15, 2020, or nine months, whichever is longer.
Those with authorized LMIAs will receive a three-month extension to satisfy the nine-month validity period.
The Canadian government continues to process immigrant applications so that they can live and work in the country and contribute to its Canada’s economic expansion.
