Canadian Minister Plans to Double the Immigration Number

A Canadian cabinet minister strongly feels that immigration numbers should be doubled in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Seamus O’Regan is the minister of Veterans Affairs, and also a Member of Parliament wants Ahmed Hussen, minister of immigration, to increase the yearly cap of 1,700 to 4,000 by 2022.

During a meet in the province, O’Regan said that he was on the phone with Ahmed Hussen and he is ready to go ahead with the plan. Many people are moving out of Newfoundland and Labrador and combined with the aging population, and the community needs to be increased to stabilize the tax base. O’Regan said that the province needs at least 4,000 immigrants settling their annually. He isn’t interested in just growing the tax base but also grows the province’s economy, create more business and jobs, bring in higher profits, and therefore make Newfoundland and Labrador a prosperous province.

According to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the province will face a 10 percent reduction in working population, which means 35,000 less population working in the labor market. The province has had a consistent increase in immigrant population but isn’t large enough to sustain the economy. In 2007, the province welcomed 546 immigrants and 1,122 in 2015. O’Regan is confident that residents of the province will welcome toward newcomers. He also mentioned that St John, a city in Newfoundland and Labrador was voted as the most open and friendly city in Canada.

Create jobs

O’Regan strongly believes that immigrants come to Canada to create jobs and not take them away. When immigrants come to Canada, they send their children to schools and colleges, use social services a lot lesser, and are focused on starting businesses. He gave the example of HeyOrca, a social media planning startup started by Memorial University international students. They were able to create 30 full-time jobs.