Globe & Mail | Claudia Hepburn, CEO, Windmill Microlending | June 15, 2023
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has predicted Canada’s economic growth will be dead last among 40 advanced economies over the next half decade. This shocking statistic is based on per capita growth in gross domestic product, which is the country’s productivity divided by the total population. How can we fix that?
Immigration is often touted as a panacea for economic growth, yet that notion is increasingly being challenged.
Analysts who favour higher levels of immigration cite Canada’s low birth rate, aging population and rapidly declining ratio of working age Canadians to seniors (7.7 to 1 in 1966, 3.4 to 1 in 2022). Others who want to reduce immigration targets argue that our supply of housing, health care and infrastructure are insufficient to handle a massive increase in newcomers. Still others contend that the solution is to focus on immigrants with the highest skills and earnings potential.