Canada’s attempt to use immigration as stimulus might be backfiring. That was the message from a new BMO report, looking at the unusually high unemployment rate for recent immigrants. The labor market for recent immigrants is eroding much faster than it is for the rest of Canada—at a rate rarely seen outside of recession. The problem is this isn’t a recession, the aggressive population growth just isn’t doing anyone a favors.
The Unemployment Rate For Recent Immigrants In Canada Surged
Immigrants are being sold on an opportunity in Canada, but they can’t even see where it begins. Those that arrived within the past five years face an unemployment rate that hit 13% in July. Just over 1 in 7 are struggling to find a job, despite fitting the criteria of being ready, willing, and able. Those who are full-time students seeking work aren’t included in those numbers.
A bad job market is a bad job market, right? That’s the problem—it’s not that bad. The bank highlights that recent immigrants face an unemployment rate 7 points higher than the general population.
“That’s the widest spread in over a decade,” explains Robert Kavcic, a senior economist at BMO.
He charted the unemployment rate gap between immigrants over time and those born in Canada. What he found is that the current scenario is far from normal.
Canadian Unemployment Is Rising Much Faster For Recent Immigrants
The gap between the unemployment rate for immigrants by length of arrival and the rest of Canada’s population.
Source: BMO Capital Markets.
“As the [above] chart shows, absorption into the job market takes time— immigrants that landed more than 10 years ago have no discernable difference in unemployment versus those born in Canada,” explains Kavcic.
While that may lead some to believe that means everything will be fine in 10-years, it may not be so easy this time. Notice how steep the recent climb is? It was more steep than the 2020-recession, and the kind of ascend only seen during recessions. That’s a problem, since this isn’t a recession. The job market is fairly strong when recent immigrants and young adults are excluded.
Yes, young adults. They tend to compete for similar entry-level roles as both demographics seek more Canadian experience. As a result, young adults in the country are experiencing a similar elevated unemployment rate as recent immigrants.
“The reality right now is that the current rate of inflow is not getting readily absorbed, which is doing no favor to the domestic job market (see youth unemployment), and no favor to those coming to Canada,” he says.
Healthy diversity means a balance of qualified immigration from all parts of the world. But what we got in the last few years is that balance completely skewed towards immigration from India. I know plenty of Indian origin Canadian citizens themselves who resent this. No one resents Indians any more than Indians themselves.
I also understand that India is the largest source of english speaking slave labor for the world. But seriously, do we really want Canada to become another India ? Policy makers must restore balance of diversity now by doing everything and anything necessary.
As an Indian that came to Canada 20+ years ago, it’s my understanding Canada is attracting India’s liabilities, which is why they aren’t worried about the sudden outflow of people.
Sketchy criminals in India are working together with equally sketchy colleges and companies in Canada to attract students from impoverished regions that will borrow a lot of money, and work low wage jobs to pay it back. They’re scraping rural, uneducated parts of the country and then telling their families back home that their kids are geniuses that will get their families out of poverty. It’s really not a good situation.
Correct. Only the bottom feeders and left overs are coming to Canada now. The quality folks immigrate to US, middle east or Aus/NZ or if they are good enough, they just stay in India to ride its growth.
Also just as bad money drives out the good, bad immigrants will drive out the good ones that came here years ago, built businesses, careers and lives, all to see it go down the drain. Not a single Indian took all the trouble to escape India to immigrate to a country that would become just another India.
Policy makers – take note.
I concur ! And I also have been told the same by those that happen to be Indian within my daily life and interaction with those that now find themselves in that position . I am Canadian ,I live in this country ,I was born here and personally I look at what has been taking place as a form of modern slavery based on entrapment of predatory fianacial loans stemming out of India made worse by the fact that Canadian corporatists decide to turn a blind eye to the hardships of those that where native enough or lacked the understanding of what was actually being offered to them .
Personally ! In my opinion this exact issue is why a singular world currency should be considered the answer to the mass immigration issues facing the world at this time in human history ,It would help solve the issues of poverty ,culture and inherent worth of being a human regardless of country of birth. “If done out of nothing more than ultraism and with the general premise and underlying idea in principal that all are equal under the law regardless of gender”.
Those that decry publicly the idea that immigration regardless of country is in fact too high should embrace the possibilities having their concerns addressed by publicly aligning with the idea
It would appear an obvious solution in solving cultural concerns regarding mass immigration while also addressing the financial discrepancies that contribute to mass immigration while helping those that would prefer to stay close to family and country of birth ,as right now much is based on luck and birth nepotism
“No one resents Indians any more than Indians themselves.”
lol funny cuz true
The number of immigrants coming from India is extremely low as a percentage of population. The people coming from Infia are skilled professionals with university degrees with lot of experience. However Canada also imported a lot of unskilled refugees from war torn countries and many of them are unemployable as they do not speak English or skills. Stop the refugee program.
Traditionally India is a source of high quality students. There was a CBC investigative report where they went to India to see how Canadian diploma mills are working with “recruiters,” and they were essentially getting hustled.
It’s a hybrid exploitation play. They comb the country-side looking for families with little formal education, and then convince them to borrow against their farm to spend their “genius” kid to Canada to bring them all up. A whole family will pitch in assuming they’re sending this kid to a real school.
They end up not speaking the language, going to a scam college with little to no regulation, which doesn’t even hold classes sometimes. It’s not a good situation. Since they put their whole family out, they’re struggling to work as much as possible to try and pay the money back or bring their parents over since failure means the loss of their multi-generation farm.
Wrong. Have you looked around lately? Tim Hortons perhaps. I can’t throw a stick in a field without hitting someone from India. Our banker is from India. She has been here a while now. She also thinks there are too many people from India coming here and also says the same thing many commenter are saying. India is not sending their best. They are poor people with no skills or criminals scamming their way into our country. The long term immigrants here this from their countryman.
Are you serious ??? The number of Indians are all around for us to see. Their student base studies here mostly in diploma mills and none of them come here with experience. The so called skilled Indian professionals you speak of now work mostly as food delivery boys, waiters and other low paying jobs to make ends meet while living in basement slums lowering the standards of everyone else around.
Even if what you say is true, the diversity needs to be balanced, so there is proportional representation of immigrants from all countries. At least refugees from war torn countries have a reason to escape their lands. What excuses do Indians have to escape their country, given that India’s so called economy is one of the fastest growing outside the G7 ? Or was all that “shining India” narrative a lie ?
My question is, if the newcomers aren’t employed, where are they getting money from? How can they afford to stay here?
Some of them have savings and/or receiving money from back home to help them survive here.
Indians, specially from Punjab and nearby northern states, are century old hustlers and will surprise any westerner with how little they can get by. Work odd jobs, deliver food, borrow, beg from family back home, shop for the cheapest used goods at thrift stores, downsize from 4 mattress in a basement to a 7 mattresses basement. Simply fascinating to observe their natural born survival instincts and all good for them. But the downsize for the rest of society is that they drag down standards all around. They are also not big spenders that will provide a catalyst to supercharge an economy. Other than provide cheap slave labor, there is no net benefit to society. Responsible immigration should contribute to diversity by balancing from all over the world , not just Indianize the host country.
Came here 20 years ago and it wasn’t easy, but at least there was plenty to be found. If you wanted to work at a factory or restaurant, you just showed up and asked for a job—almost everywhere was hiring.
Now you see these kids lined up for hours to get their first minimum wage job. This isn’t a country that’s succeeding, it’s one that’s spiraling.
Immigration as a stimulus might be backfiring, which is an understatement. The private sector is struggling to compete on the Global stage. However, Trudeau and his ilk, who receive an uninterruptible paycheck, think that adding more bodies to the unemployed ranks is a solution. This isn’t an experiment. It’s colossal ignorance.
This is the point that always kills me. People say home prices need to rise because of population but how do they pay rising rents if there are no jobs, and the ones that exist are minimum wage?
I don’t blame the immigrants either. When vacancies are rising and kids are sleeping in tents behind the colleges in any wooden area, the gov should have been stepping in instead of pretending it was needed to justify giving us tens of millions to renovate rentals for “green” projects. Comically bad planning that’s going to lead to a long downturn for most of the country.
People are making some misconceptions in the comments is Canada attracting India’s undesirables?
No not really, firstly the people who can afford to come here are mainly those well enough enough to do so but who aren’t very wealthy and thus feel like their are opportunities here. So it’s typically the middle class, most immigrants who come are either university educated already or international students.
Frankly I think when people realize that the job market in Canada isn’t that good (which is what alot of ppl are saying on YouTube even in other countries ), they’ll be less likely to come. Most people don’t want to uproot their life and then spend years struggling in a foreign country for a chance of success when they can just do the same at home.
Honestly the Government needs to do a Better job boosting growth and addressing unemployment for those here.
Actually you hold the misconceptions. The quality immigrants are attracted to US, which provides more opportunities or UK, AUS, NZ or the middle east, which are closer to India and have better weather. Only the left overs with no where else to go come to Canada, the undesirables that have sold ancestral farms and properties to buy their way here.
Agree with you on your last point that the government needs to boost growth and address unemployment of Canadians. They have made a good start with the deportation of excess Indians but need to do more by balancing immigration diversity so there is equal representation of qualified immigrants from all countries.
oh this isn’t a recession?
Canada need more temporary workers and international student to do good and be strong country. It cannot be stopped and won’t be stop Or else there will be trouble and unrest
Nope. We don’t need anymore. The students tell the immigration agent they do not plan to stay here. They plan to take their education back to India. Then when they are finished they protest and demand citizenship. So they lie at the get go then demand we take them. There isn’t enough work, we don’t need any more. Infact, many should be sent back home. Your being dooped into coming here.
No one denies that Canada needs immigrants. We just don’t want Canada to become another India. What Canada needs is to balance quality immigration from all countries so there is proportional representation in the immigration community which is what “diversity” actually means. Diversity does not mean to fill a country with Indians.
Btw, if Indian economic growth is one of the highest outside the G7, why do so many Indians from North India want to escape to Canada? India is shining, is it not ? Not?
This mentality is exactly why we must stop this unbridled immigration and especially the student visa and temporary foreign worker programs. We need more medical services and housing, not people who are willing to threaten us and our economy when things don’t go their way.
Immigration should be for people required to fill skilled jobs and can contribute right away, can speak an official language, and should be ineligible for social programs for a minimum of five years of paying taxes.
They just want suckers to spend their life savings in paying rent to a Brampton slumlord.
I wonder which job is harder, cleaning toilets for a living or Prime Minister. Prime Minister can leave the seat up, never mop the floor, forget to install a new roll of tp… in short, be totally incompetent, and still poll high due to wavy hair and a nice smile.
Immigration is a mess, housing is a mess, and our economy is a mess.
Why anyone is surprised is beyond me.
Trudeau couldn’t cope with a first-year engineering course, dropping out after only a few months, yet we voted him in to run a country.
Anyone unable to complete the first year of an engineering undergraduate degree does not have the wherewithal to run a country—except, of course, into the ground, which is what he has done.
Did Russia and China cut back funding to Canadian social activists? Must be why unemployment is rising…