Leading edge baby boomers, born in 1946, are now 78. Baby boomers at the end of the boom, born in 1965, are now 59.
Baby boomers comprise just under one-quarter of the Canadian population, or in the neighbourhood of 10 million people.
As they leave the workforce in ever-increasing numbers, there are not enough Canadian-born workers or permanent residents to take their places. The latest available figures show Canada’s fertility rate fell to 1.33 children per woman in 2022, while studies show a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is required to keep a population steady.
Hence the need for immigration.
The federal government expects 485,000 new permanent residents for 2024, and previously set the numbers for 2025 and 2026 at 500,000 each year. That may be lowered at any time.
It is the temporary resident numbers that have grabbed all the attention lately, with a total of 2.5 million in 2023, or 6.2 per cent of our population. There was a large influx during and after the pandemic, but now employers are having less difficulty filling jobs, so temporary resident numbers are being reduced.
Who are the temporary residents?
About 42 per cent are international students, nine per cent are temporary foreign workers, five per cent are asylum seekers, and 44 per cent are temporary workers under the International Mobility Program, which includes those on post-graduation work permits, spousal work permits, youth mobility programs, intercompany transfers, and people in special humanitarian pathways, such as those fleeing Ukraine.
The high numbers have created an immigration backlash in Canada, spurred on by Pierre Poilievre, who has been dreaming of becoming Prime Minister for years. This is the same guy who brought doughnuts to the whackadoodles who occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks.
Some of them are still there, harassing MPs, staffers, and journalists as they move around Parliament Hill and its environs.
You can’t reason with wild protesters and simplistic politicians, but I trust the general Canadian public understands that we need immigrants, despite the recent hiccups in our immigration system.
The federal government has reacted to the high number of temporary residents by placing a two-year cap for new international students and a partial visa requirement for travellers from Mexico, with more changes on the way.
Immigration is complicated, and despite its many challenges, Canada has one of the best systems to control it in the world.
Locally, we have had a lull in permanent resident applications over the past few months since the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program ended. We are waiting for the launch of its replacement program, the Rural Communities Immigration Pilot.
If the application submitted by the North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce to be the lead agency for RCIP, as it was for RNIP, is successful, we will see a resumption of immigrants in North Bay and the region becoming permanent residents.
And that’s a great thing for the city and region as we continue to grow our population, increase the municipal tax base with new businesses and homeowners, and create more cultural diversity.
What Mr. Poilievre and others need to realize is that Canada is a nation of immigrants, and always has been. As a leading-edge baby boomer minus a year myself, I am thankful that we are welcoming Personal Support Workers from countries such as the Philippines, India, and Nigeria.
Almost everyone I have met, and I have met dozens, was a Registered Nurse in their home country. Some who started out here as a PSW have gone through the Ontario nursing accreditation program and are now working locally as RNs.
Guess who will be taking care of the medical and personal needs of the aging baby boomers?
Editor’s Note: Don Curry is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant living in North Bay, and is a member of Bay Today’s community advisory committee.
