Immigration essential to keep N.L.'s economy afloat, experts say amid cuts from Ottawa

Long-term sustainability will be a challenge for Newfoundland and Labrador if the province is included in Canada's national cuts to immigration, local experts say.

"We're going to have to make our voice very well known to the federal government to ensure that our needs are met, to ensure that our residents are taken care of in our future aging population that we have," said Wanda Cuff Young, vice-president of Work Global Canada.

On Thursday, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Canada would be cutting the projected number of new permanent residents the country takes in, from 485,000 this year to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

Miller told reporters the new immigration plan would stabilize population growth and relieve pressure on the housing market.

Tony Fang, an economics professor at Memorial University, understands Miller's logic.

Fang said immigration was prioritized in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic as management for economic recovery — and it worked, except parts of the country grew too fast.

"We don't have the critical investment in housing, health care and public transportation to complement the actual human capital brought into this country," Fang said. 

But Newfoundland and Labrador is in a very different situation.

"We have a lot of room to grow," Fang said.

Aging population

Repopulation in Newfoundland and Labrador is not happening naturally, according to the Harris Centre's interim director, Kim Crosbie.

The population is aging, with more deaths than births. 

"Without natural change, birth being greater than death, the only way to increase population is through immigration," Crosbie said. 

Immigration will help maintain and grow the economy — while filing jobs left open due to retirement.

For example, in the health-care system, immigration is essential. More care is required in places with an aging population, which requires working-age people to fill those positions.

"We have the oldest population in the country. The median age ... is 48 years old, compared with a national average of 41," Fang said.

Immigration is also helping the province diversify its economy, Cuff Young says.

"The construction industry, the aquaculture industry," she said. "We see the growth and the demand that's going to be coming forward, and now it's going to be very challenging.

"If this flip-flops back, I see significant problems along the line," she said.

Provincial Immigration Minister Sarah Stoodley agrees.

"It's not sustainable for Newfoundland and Labrador to have to withstand those kinds of cuts," Stoodley said on Thursday.

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