Yesterday’s Fall Economic and Fiscal Update outlines important steps forward for Canada as the country continues to address the evolving health, economic, and social challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October of 2020, the federal government announced an enhanced Immigration Levels Plan to make up for reduced immigration early in the pandemic and to plan for increases to immigration over the coming years, including 411,000 immigrants in 2022, the highest number in Canadian history. The Fall Economic Statement commits $85 million in 2022-23 to accelerate immigration processing times. This investment can play a key role in delivering on ambitious immigration targets, addressing processing backlogs, and supporting newcomers to fulfill their vision of making Canada their home.
The Fall Economic and Fiscal Update highlights the importance of immigration to address pressures that businesses are facing to find enough workers, noting that Canada was one of few advanced economies to prioritize immigration increases early in the pandemic to support economic growth. Notably, there is continued broad public support for immigration in the country. A recent Environics Institute’s Focus Canada survey shows that two-thirds (65%) of Canadians reject the idea that immigration levels are too high, and that Canadians recognize the critical contribution immigrants make to our economy and our social fabric.
The Fall Economic and Fiscal Update highlights several additional actions critical to building sustainable, shared prosperity for all Canadians such as continued implementation of the Canada-wide early learning and childcare system; and finalizing Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy addressing risks of climate change by the end of 2022.
Century Initiative remains committed to working with the federal government on key priorities related to smart population growth so that together, we can build a globally competitive and resilient economy, and safeguard Canada's high quality of life and standard of living for future generations.
