Canadian Economy and Immigration

We have been reading about the Canadian Economy and the resistance it showed to the economic crisis. Throughout the past few months, news has been flashing on internet about the speedy recovery Canada has been making with the downturns of recession. Compared to the economies of many countries around the world, the economy of Canada is less affected by recession and it still remains the perfect place to do business with its stable banking system and its much easier now to start a business in Canada as the economy moves out of the recession. The immigrant population is also one of the biggest key to the success of the growth of the country.

‘Bank of Canada’ also declared recently that the recession was over after surveying the status of many Canadian banks. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Canada also grew in June for the first time in 11 months, reported Statistics Canada (StatsCan). StatsCan recently reported that in August, the private sector created more than 27,000 jobs, an unexpected growth in the job market. Canada’s major banks are reporting profits in the third quarter of 2009, another sign that the economy is recovering. In addition, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the federal housing agency, said that the housing market is expected to rebound over the last few months of 2009.

Some analysts have been picturing it as a positive sign believing that Canada is not only recovering from the economic slump which has affected most nations, but they also believe that Canada’s economy is expected to grow. “The upturn in June GDP, the swift snapback in housing amid rebounding consumer confidence, and a stabilizing U.S. economy all suggest that Canada’s recession is indeed ending,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, a leading financial services provider.

New Immigrants in Canada have boosted the housing market. In last eight years, the inflow of immigrants in Canada is responsible for most of the housing sales in the Greater Toronto Area. As reported by Scotia bank, a major Canadian financial institution, found that newcomers are making a faster transition from renting homes to owning homes than they did in the past. “Given Canada’s aging population and low fertility rates, longer term household formation and housing needs will be largely determined by immigration,” Adrienne Warren, the author of the report, said. Inspite of that, the skills and experiences of the immigrant is becoming increasingly valuable to the Canadian economy.

Addressing to the same, Mr. Gordon Nixon and Dominic D’Alessandro of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council said, “Immigrants bring skills, including language and cultural abilities, knowledge and networks that can help us to reach out to emerging economic giants such as China and India, as well as emerging markets at home – particularly at a time when the U.S. economy remains weak and we need to be looking to expand our trade and cultural relationships even more”.

Due to the following, many employers and institutions in Canada are now taking various majors to ensure that the new immigrants fully adjust to the country’s labour market. Various new initiatives have been introduced for the immigrants like providing them with mentorship programs, language instruction services, increasing their networking requirements etc.
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written by Varsha Negi
www.angadinfo.com