According to John Ruffolo, CEO of one of Canada’s ace pension funds - OMERS Ventures, the magnitude of immigration will be more than tripled in the future. Talent acquisition and innovation could be the solution to the country’s growth predicaments, says Ruffolo.
Canada is considered to be in the lead when it comes to swiftly-aging demographics. The country’s stagnant GDP growth has been disconcerting, and its federal government is on the lookout for strategies to surpass challenges and attain sustainable longstanding growth. The lack of long-term growth will cripple Canada’s social programs, and they are still a long way from it. The more skilled working-age folk are retained in the country, the more its productivity shall scale up.
In his own words, John Ruffolo stated… “We should increase immigration. By 2025, 30 percent of our population will be 60 and older – to mitigate this imbalance, Canada would need to increase immigration for each of the next five years to one million people. If we focus this intake on skilled newcomers between the ages of 20 and 39, it would shift our overall proportion of that band from 25 per cent to 32 per cent of the population.
Without such a strategy, Canada may face stark choices: tax increases, greater national debt or scaled-back social programs”
Even the country’s immigration ministers and officials of innovation & development have always expressed their vision on Canada’s growth, with regard to improving immigration. Opportunities will be many, to fast-track visa processes to attract and retain highly skilled, foreign workers.
