By Rajitha Sivakumaran
F
or the first time in nearly 150 years,
Canada’s population had more indi-
viduals over the age of 65 than chil-
dren under 14 years last year. The popula-
tion has been aging for some time and the
consequences of this are many, but one in
particular is critical: an aging workforce.
Immigration is one of the most competent
ways of mitigating the effects of the de-
clining Canadian-born labour force. Canada
already has one of the largest per-capita
immigration rates in the world, but the
new Liberal government has elected to
increase that amount to 300,000 in 2017.
This policy will not only strengthen the
economy, but will put Canada at the fore-
front for talent acquisition.
But bringing in highly qualified immigrants
is only the first step. According to the Immi-
grants in the Labour Force report released
by the Government of Alberta, immigrants
made up 25 per cent of unemployed Al-
DECEMBER 2016
H
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