Federal Government to Study Atlantic Canada’s Immigration Challenge

Colin R. Singer
February 6, 2020

The federal government has agreed to undertake an in-depth study on the challenges of immigration in Atlantic Canada.

A private members’ motion won unanimous House of Commons support for a year-long examination of exactly what can be done to tackle demographic challenges in New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Key elements of the study will include:

Challenges linked to aging and diminishing population.
Retention of current population.
Retention of new immigrants.
How to increase immigration to the region.
Analysis of new immigration pilot program.

The Atlantic provinces are at the sharp end of Canada’s growing demographic problem, despite some success in tackling the aging population trend.

Both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia managed to increase their populations of under-45s in 2016, reversing a downward trend dating back at least five years (see charts below).

The provincial and federal governments recently announced a new pilot program allowing 2,000 new immigrants into Atlantic Canada in 2017 under the individual Provincial Nominee Programs. These numbers could rise if the program is a success.

Atlantic Canada Provincial Nominee Programs

The immigration pilot program is part of a new Atlantic Growth Strategy, aimed at boosting the economy in eastern Canada in five priority areas:

Skilled workforce and immigration
Innovation
Clean growth and climate change
Trade and investment
Infrastructure

But the challenge still remains that new immigrants are drawn to the major cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal and that once they have permanent resident status, free movement is a constitutional right.

This is not a new problem for Canada, so if the current government is going to solve it, they need to think innovatively.

There needs to be considerable joined-up thinking across all levels of government to make it happen.

Provincial policy makers need to create the right conditions and consider a variety of measures for immigrants to remain there.

Some possible policies include:

Short term provincial tax credits for new residents.
Offer residential land purchases in outlying areas at below market prices.
Conditional property tax exemptions.

Source: Statistics Canada

Given the need to rely on immigration as a tool to meet growing demographic challenges, policy makers in Atlantic Canada and elsewhere must consider the carrot approach.

The immigration tools are in place. They just need to be complemented with input from a much wider range of stakeholders to create the right conditions for immigrants to remain by choice.

This strategy will go a long way to helping ensure the success of Canada’s overall immigration policy objectives.

Source: Statistics Canada

As Immigration Minister John McCallum recently announced a target of 300,000 newcomers for 2017, including a significant boost in the numbers of economic immigrants. Controlling where those immigrants live is the subject of lively debate.

It is not clear whether the federal government has a legal avenue to explore in terms of making immigrants reside in a specific province or area.

In order for a court to allow such a limitation, McCallum would have to show that chronic labour shortages in certain areas of Canada are a threat to the future of those areas.

Source: Statistics Canada

Then a court might be convinced of the seriousness of the issue.

If the restriction was temporary and not too onerous on newcomers, there is a chance a court could find a way towards allowing it.

Building a new immigration program stream specifically for this purpose could also offset some of the concerns.

Immigrants could be restricted to living in certain areas, and in return they would be in with a better chance of gaining permanent residency, and more quickly.

Source: Statistics Canada

But all of this seems unlikely given the major hurdle is the constitutional right to free movement for permanent residents.

Back in July, the premiers of Canada’s nine provinces and territories have called for the federal government to give them the same controls over immigration as Quebec.

The 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord gives the French-speaking province the right to set its own immigration policies, with minimal input at federal level.

Now the other premiers want to be given the same powers, mainly because they believe they are each best placed to decide exactly what is required in terms of immigration for their individual economies.

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