it has become the new thing among centre-left politicians — to bemoan the super-charged migration rates of the past three years .
u.s. president joe biden and vice-president kamala harris, the presumptive democratic presidential nominee, have trimmed illegal migration at the mexican border. crossing numbers, although still prodigious at 80,000 a month, are now the lowest in three years .
advertisement
the relatively new immigration minister, marc miller, talks a bit tougher, lamenting things like the “perverse effects” and “lack of integrity” in canada’s migration system. “there should be an honest conversation,“ he said, “about what the rise in international migration means for canada as we plan ahead.”
last month, market research firm leger discovered 60 per cent of canadians now think there are “too many” newcomers . that’s a huge shift from just 35 per cent in 2019. it’s even true for young adult canadians, whose ratio of disapproval is 57 per cent.
advertisement
despite the public musings from trudeau and miller, however, actual signs of reduced numbers of migrants in canada are hard to discern . no clear downward trend in temporary residents is visible.
the influential economist magazine has been among them. but, perhaps surprisingly, it has recently begun pointing out there can be downsides to what it calls “sky-high immigration.”
advertisement
labour economist mikal skuterud of the university of waterloo has become one of the strongest voices in the country for warning the federal liberals have been caving in to big corporations who want to increase their profit margins not through innovation but by bringing in cheap labour and more consumers.
advertisement
the scheme is hurting many, including the newcomers themselves. economist mike moffatt, of the place centre, says high volumes of guest workers are contributing to hardship for young people . “excluding the pandemic,” he said, canada’s “employment rates for 20- to 24-year-olds are the worst they’ve been in over 25 years.”
the lesson is obvious for canada, where international migration rates hover far above other countries, and where urban housing prices are among the worst in the world and rents are stratospheric. nowhere is that more true than in gateway cities. in greater toronto, according to liv.rent , the average monthly price of a one-bedroom is $2,228, and in metro vancouver it’s $2,361.
alas, since wages are lower in metro vancouver than in much of the rest of canada, royal lepage says 27 per cent of households in metro vancouver pay more than half their net income in rent, a frightful proportion that is almost double the national average.
advertisement