The Aging Province Needs a Population Boost—An Immigration Law Firm Weighs in
There is a powerful and quantifiable link between immigration to Canada and economic growth—and now, Nova Scotia is vying to experience these benefits for itself. The province’s aging population has academics and officials concerned that, without a significant boom in population growth, Nova Scotia may be headed for economic disaster.
The link between immigration figures, population growth and economic growth is strong in Canada, according to immigration law firms. To illustrate the effect of population growth on economic growth, take the four leading cities for the former in 2013-2014: Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Regina, Saskatchewan.
As discussed in a previous post, these four cities also saw the highest economic growth during that time. Edmonton was in the lead, with a 4.9% growth, and nearly 30,000 jobs believed to have been created that year. These cities also saw unemployment rates lower than the national average. Similar growth figures led to strong economic projections in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Hamilton for 2015 as well.
Nova Scotia, on the other hand, is experiencing an aging population; this is to say, there is a significant demographic shift, leading to more older age cohorts who can no longer work or might soon retire than younger age cohorts who can take over these jobs. This is a very common effect of a slowed population growth. One factor in the reduced growth is typically people having fewer children. The other is immigration. However, Canada’s immigration officials in Ottawa have been creating bottlenecks that are allowing fewer new arrivals to settle in the maritime province than would be considered ideal.
In September, the federal government promised Nova Scotia an additional 300 immigrants through express entry. But experts say this will not be sufficient, and immigration law firms agree that in order to boost the ailing provincial economy, more new migrants will be needed.
With a new Federal Government now in Parliament, and with it, new ministers—especially in Citizenship and Immigration Canada—it is possible that Nova Scotia may finally be able to get its wish to see increased immigration on a scale that can bolster job growth and financial stability for the province.
For assistance with applying for permanent residency through the express entry system, new arrivals in Canada can turn to the aid of an immigration law firm, which offers a variety of services to help people navigate Canada’s immigration channels.
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.