Canada’s immigration levels will need to rise in the future

On November 1st, Canada announced that it would be keeping immigration levels constant, hoping to welcome roughly 500,000 immigrants a year, in 2025 and 2026.

While Canada’s current immigration levels are already at record-breaking highs, a recent report from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) suggests that immigration levels will likely need to rise again soon; further stating that Canada’s immigration rates, as they currently stand, will simply not be enough to uphold the country’s population and meet domestic labour market demand.

Canada needs immigration for several reasons—most pressingly to address concerns around the country’s demography and labour market.

Canada has one of the world’s oldest populations, combined with a low-fertility rate (1.40 births per woman) that has come to currently typify many countries in the west. This combination of factors makes it impossible for Canada to replenish its population with just natural-born Canadians—making immigration crucial. Connected to this problem are further demands that Canada’s economy (the ninth largest in the world by Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) has on its labour market—which is impacted by the same replenishment problem that Canada’s population faces.