Record immigration numbers reinforce need to boost housing supply: economist

Statistics Canada says the country welcomed more than 145,000 immigrants during the first three months of the year.

That’s the highest number for a single quarter on record, since comparable data became available in 1972.

The federal agency released its quarterly population estimates Wednesday, showing Canada continues to grow rapidly.

The pace of population growth was the fastest on record for a first quarter as well, with 98 per cent of the growth coming from immigration.

On June 16, Canada’s population reached 40 million, according to StatCan’s population clock.

The federal government released new immigration targets in the fall that will see Canada welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025.

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“While surging population growth and improving immigrant labour market integration are positive for Canada’s long-run economic prosperity, they come with two caveats,” Marc Desormeaux, principal economist at Desjardins, wrote in a report Wednesday.

“First, to the extent that they’re contributing to outsized employment growth, that could put upward pressure on consumer demand,” he said, adding that could make efforts from the Bank of Canada to tamp down inflation more challenging.

“Second, we know that many Canadians are struggling with severely stretched housing affordability. Continued efforts to attract and retain skilled newcomers contribute to household formation rates, and therefore only reinforces the need to boost the housing supply.”

The federal government released new immigration targets in the fall that will see Canada welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025.

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And on Tuesday, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced Ottawa would be launching a new and dedicated pathway for permanent residents that’s specifically available to employees and workers in the STEM sector, which covers science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

He said it was an effort to go after so-called “digital nomads” in a “global race” to win the world’s top tech talent.

The following day, Fraser, alongside Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, announced a new immigration program which aims to double the number health-care workers in the country amid a shortage of skilled labour in the field.

With files from Global News’ Nicole Gibillini