Economist Tells Business Forum That Canada Faces Labour Shortage

Speakers at the 2012 Global Business Forum, held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, included the US ambassador to Canada David Jacobson and Boom, Bust and Echo author David Foot (Hedwig Storch)

In a talk that could nudge policy makers toward increasing immigration levels, Toronto economist and demographer David Foot told an audience of business executives, academics, diplomats and government leaders that Canada will face a severe labour shortage over the next two decades as millions of Canadians enter retirement.

“Canada will have more old than young people and no amount of immigration can change the figure,” said Foot.

Foot is the author of Boom, Bust & Echo, a book that forecasts changes to Canada’s economy and way of life as the population ages.

At the talk, he counselled that Canada invite more international students to settle in the country, and suggested Mexico, which has the youngest population in North America, as a good place to “recruit”.

Focusing Canadian immigration on international students has been a recurring recommendation over the last year, which makes a change in immigration law that makes it easier for foreign students to become permanent residents more likely.

Foot was one of 25 speakers who gave speeches at today’s Global Business Forum in Banff, Alberta, an event hosted annually by the iconic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Immigration Canada Indicates Growing Importance of Canadian Experience Class to Canadian Immigration

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney appears with Gaurav Gore, the 20,000th permanent resident admitted under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), in a news conference on September 14th. CIC wants temporary foreign workers and graduates of Canadian post-secondary institutions like Mr. Gore to make up a greater proportion of Canadian immigrants. (Citizenship and Immigration Canada)

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CEC) announced on Friday that the 20,000th permanent resident under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program has recently been admitted. The announcement signals CIC’s intent to make the CEC a bigger part of Canadian immigration, in an effort to improve the long-term labour market integration of the typical Canadian immigrant.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney was joined by a Mr. Gaurav Gore, the 20,000th CEC permanent resident, at a news conference celebrating the program’s milestone. Mr. Kenney held Mr. Gore, a native of India who recently earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Toronto, and currently works at BMO Financial Group, as an exemplary immigrant of the type that the Department of Citizenship and Immigration wants to attract through the CEC program.

The CEC program allows temporary residents, either foreign graduates of Canadian post-secondary institutions or temporary foreign workers, to apply for Canadian permanent residence if they meet the program’s educational and work experience requirements.

CIC has said that programs like the CEC attract immigrants who are more likely to succeed because they require applicants to have Canadian work experience to qualify, which is a strong predictor of economic success in Canada.

Immigration authorities also prefer the CEC to more traditional immigration programs like the Federal Skilled Worker Program because individuals who apply under the post-graduate stream of the CEC have Canadian educational credentials, which provide more employability than many foreign credentials.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney noted this perceived advantage of post-graduate CEC applicants, saying “international student graduates have educational credentials that are recognized by Canadian employers as well as official language skills that are important factors for success.”

Financial Posts Advises Canada Follow Australia’s Lead in International Students Policy

The Financial Post article is one in a series of high profile endorsements of shifting education and immigration policy to attract more international students and give them an easier path to Canadian permanent residence (CICS News)

An article in today’s Financial Post by Diane Francis applauds recent changes that have made Canadian immigration policy more similar to Australia’s and recommends that Canada go further in emulating the other nation’s policies.

It notes that a recent report by a government advisory panel has called for a doubling of international students in Canada and, like Australia, creating an easier path for foreign graduates of Canadian post-secondary institutions to stay in Canada:

Australia’s success has been widely disseminated and last week a blue-ribbon federal task force in Canada released a report that would emulate its policy. The number of foreign students allowed entry into Canadian institutions should nearly double in a decade and those who graduate from Canadian institutions should be eligible to remain, rather than having to return home and wait years to get in.

Francis writes that the success of Australia’s international student policy owes in part to a superior national marketing effort. She suggests Australia provides better information resources for prospective foreign students in the studyinaustralia.gov.au website, and that the federal government should make studyincanada.com a comparable resource.

The article goes on to note that Australian universities charge international students more than Canadian universities, but that they provide the benefit of immigration eligibility upon graduation. Francis says that doing the same in Canada would attract more highly skilled immigrants who have a greater likelihood of being successful in Canada’s job market due to their Canadian credentials.

Francis also criticizes the current combination of low tuition for international students enrolled in Canadian medical schools, immigration laws that prevent foreign graduates of Canadian medical schools from staying in the country to practice medicine, and the difficulty foreign trained doctors have in becoming licensed to practice in Canada, in encouraging Canadian students to go abroad to become doctors and creating a shortage of licensed doctors in Canada:

Worse yet, there are inadequate places for Canadians at Canadian medical schools and the result is that hundreds of Canadians go to Australian medical schools, and virtually all stay, according to University of Melbourne Professor and immigration specialist Lesleyanne Hawthorne.

(This points out another needed immigration reform. As Canadians go abroad to become doctors because foreigners have taken their places, foreigners who study here cannot stay to practice medicine because they must go home and re-apply. No foreign credentials, Australian or even American, are recognized by Canada’s protectionist medical profession.)

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By offering eligibility with an education, universities here can up their fees substantially, and provide more spaces for Canadians.

Next, the article praises Australia’s immigration policy for selectively picking international students with credentials that are in demand for permanent residence eligibility, and rejecting those students who “have not adjusted to the culture or who have not behaved properly”.

Finally, the articles warns that in making the path to immigration for international students easier and working to double the number of foreign students in Canada, the potential exists for “private-school rackets” that hand out low-quality credentials to crop up in greater numbers, and that the federal government would need to prevent this by monitoring institutions that cater to international students.

The Financial Post article is the third recent high-profile publication advising the federal government gear its immigration policy toward international students.

A report published by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives earlier this month and authored by the president of UBC recommends that Canada focus on attracting more international students from Asia, and a government advisory panel released its finding last week that urges the federal government to set a target of doubling the number international students that study in Canada within ten years.

Immigration Dept to Clamp Down on Student Visa Misuse

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is looking to reduce misuse of student visas to gain access to the Canadian labour market (CICS News)

The federal government plans on tightening rules for those on student visas to reduce inappropriate use of the visas to work in Canada.

The new rules will seek to prevent the practice of gaining entrance into Canada on a student visa, but instead of attending school, using the time in Canada to work.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says that while Australia and the UK have instituted rules to ensure that organizations that claim to be educational institutions are what they claim to be, and that foreign nationals on student visas are attending classes, Canada has no such safeguards in place.

Kenney said the Immigration Department is proposing that provinces create lists of “credible post-secondary institutions”, and that only student visa applicants that enrol in a listed school be accepted. The proposal further calls for monitoring of foreign nationals on student visas to verify they are attending classes.

The proposal would also eliminate student visas for education programs that are less than six months in length, and would restrict work permits for those on student visas to work relevant to their courses, like co-ops.

The proposed restriction on work permits would eliminate one of the competitive advantages that a report by a government advisory panel says Canada has over its main competitors in attracting international students.

Government Panel Recommends Doubling Number of International Students

International students in Vancouver, Canada. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects the number of post-secondary students who study abroad to double from 3.7 million (2009) to 6.4 million in 2025. (CICS News)

Hot on the heels of a report commissioned by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives urging Canada to work to attract more international students, a government advisory panel released a report today recommending that the Canadian government double the number of foreign students it admits every year.

The report cites the annual $8 billion contribution international students make to the Canadian economy, the links those students create between Canada and other countries, and the boost they provide to innovation, as economic benefits that Canada accrues from being a top destination for international study. It also says that international students can help meet the labour shortages that the Canadian economy is expected to face as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement.

To enhance the economic benefits, the panel recommends working to attract a larger number international students to Canada, by taking advantage of the country’s competitive advantages over Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom. These advantages include a reputation for “consistent quality at a reasonable cost”, the option international students have to work during their schooling in Canada, and the ability of students to apply for permanent residence in Canada upon graduation from a Canadian post-secondary educational institution.

Among the recommendations the report makes is setting a target of doubling the number of international students that study in Canada each year, from 239,131 last year, to more than 450,000, by 2022. It also proposes that the federal government create an International Mobility Program to sponsor 50,000 Canadian students to study abroad each year, to internationalize Canadian students, and help create stronger connections between Canada and the rest of the world.

To retain more international students after they have graduated in Canada, the report recommends expanding and promoting the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) immigration program, which allows international graduates of eligible post-secondary institutions who have at least one year of work experience in Canada to apply for permanent residence in the country.

UBC President Urges Canada to Work to Attract Asian Students

UBC's Okanagan campus. The number of international students in Canadian universities has doubled in the last decade. (Cyprien Lomas)

A new report commissioned by the influential Canadian Council of Chief Executives says Canada must succeed in attracting Asian international students and building links to Asian academic institutions.

The report by the president of the University of British Columbia, Stephen Toope, says that emerging Asian economies like China and India are making significant investments in building academic links to the rest of the world, and that Canada must do the same and work to attract Asian students and researchers while promoting study abroad programs for Canadian students to build institutional partnerships.

Toope recommends ten steps to position Canada as the premier destination for Asian students and researchers and partner of choice for Asian academic institutions:

1. A cohesive international education strategy- creating a unified national strategy that incorporates and coordinates the activities of different governmental and non-governmental parties to more effectively promote Canadian academic institutions.

2. Build the Canadian brand- a collaborative approach by Canadian universities, the Canadian private sector, and local, provincial and federal governments, to promote the Canadian brand abroad to prospective international students, researchers and institutional partners.

3. Targeted recruitment of Asian students and researchers- initiating a recruitment campaign to attract Asian students and researchers, particularly in India and China, in order to cement Canada’s position as a premier destination for studying abroad.

To attract top talent, adding to the retinue of scholarships offered by Canadian universities and governments, and expanding existing scholarship programs like the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships.

4. Two-way short term mobility- increasing the number and scale of study-abroad programs for Canadian students to give young Canadians international experience and to promote an image in foreign countries of Canada as a country that is globally minded and committed to future educational advancement.

5. Develop key institutional partnerships- building meaningful academic links to Asian institutions that demonstrate to foreign countries that Canada is committed to becoming their partner, and not just their recruiter.

6. Internationalize curricula in Canada- in order to internationalize Canadian students, introduce more Asian content into Canadian educational curricula, “from kindergarten to university”.

7. Leadership from the private sector- partnerships between different levels of government and the private sector to fund educational initiatives like study-abroad programs and to provide internships for international students studying in Canada.

8. Invest in international research collaboration at scale- creating a large, federally funded, global research fund, that is allocated competitively by granting councils, to fund international research collaboration that increases participation by Canadian students and faculty in international research projects.

9. Knowledge exports- Continued collaboration by Canadian universities in “curriculum development, pedagogy, research and mentoring university administrations” with Asian universities looking to develop their academic offerings, in order to build on Canada’s reputation as a provider of high quality education and to expand the knowledge export industry.

10. Leverage international alumni networks- use international alumni of Canadian universities in marketing campaigns to promote Canada and its academic institutions abroad.

The report argues that Canada must broaden academic connections to Asia because it increases the country’s cultural and economic links to rapidly developing Asian economies which will become increasingly important to Canada’s future economic well being.

Toope points out that international students also have a positive economic impact through the $6.5 billion they spend each year on tuition, accommodations and other expenses.

Toope says that thanks to recent immigration policy changes that make it easier for international students to receive work permits and permanent residence in Canada after graduating, many international students are choosing to stay in Canada after completing their studies, where they contribute their skills to the Canadian labour market.