A pair of YouTubers are indirectly helping Nova Scotia’s government hit its 2021 target of attracting 7,000 newcomers to the province.
“You see a lot of people talk about Toronto, Vancouver but Biba is probably the only one, as well as me, to talk about Halifax for immigrants,” Max Medyk said, an international student in the process of becoming a permanent resident.
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Nova Scotia’s government has traditionally struggled to retain international students after they graduate. According to the N.S. Office of Immigration, only 34 international graduates remained in the province in 2014. Nova Scotia’s immigration strategy now includes prioritizing international graduate retention and in 2020 the number increased to 1,018.
“For me, Halifax was like a spot where it’s like a city not too big, close to Europe, close to New York, it’s kind of like in the middle of everything. And, it’s not as expensive compared to Toronto, Vancouver, based on my research,” Medyk said.
Medyk has set a goal of helping 10,000 people immigrate to Canada in 2021 by sharing his international student and immigration experiences online.
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His content creation connected him with Habiba Onuora, another YouTuber who immigrated to Canada as a skilled worker from Nigeria in 2019 with her family.
“Once we found out that we met the criteria and we could come here and become permanent residents, we could get good jobs based on our experience and qualifications, we thought – ‘Why not?'” Onuora said.
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The federal government is relying on a surge in immigration to help mitigate the ongoing economic and demographic challenges that come with an aging population.
Among Canada’s population growth in early 2020, 82 per cent came from permanent and temporary immigration.
Onuora’s family became permanent residents through the federal Express Entry program and chose to remain in Nova Scotia despite having the option to move anywhere within Canada.
“We wanted somewhere where we could raise a family, we’re a young couple, we have a four-year-old. So, we wanted somewhere not too fast-paced,” she said.
Onuora says Canada’s immigration programs are also appealing because of the confidence they instill in being able to settle long-term.
“One of the things that appealed to us about coming here as a skilled worker is the fact that we’re going to get our permanent residency,” she said.
The Bank of Canada states that high immigration levels provide a net benefit to the country and drives growth in the labour, housing and consumer markets.
Nova Scotia’s surge in population growth has placed ongoing pressure on the provincial government to address outstanding issues.
“Health care. It took us over a year to get a family doctor,” Onuora said.
The federal government has set a target of attracting 401,000 new immigrants to the country in 2021.
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