The Canada flag catches the morning light on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa onApril 16, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Lisa Lalande is chief executive officer of Century Initiative.
In 100 years, Canada should aspire to be bigger, bolder and more influential. But this vision will amount to nothing unless it is met with uncommon action today.
Nowhere is this truth more evident than in our national immigration strategy, where a mismatch between vision and execution persists, particularly concerning temporary residents.
Without question, temporary residents in Canada play an essential role in meeting our labour needs. But there are now well over 2.5 million temporary residents living in Canada, making up more than 6 per cent of our total population. Already that 2.5 million figure represents a 30-per-cent increase from just a year ago.
These numbers underline a deeper concern: that we have not adequately incorporated temporary residents into our planning.
Beyond a pledge to reduce the intake of temporary residents, Immigration Minister Marc Miller recently urged provinces and territories to provide better data on temporary residents, including rates of transition from temporary to permanent status, and their capacity to absorb newcomers.
This request is understandable yet worrying. Mr. Miller’s ask points to a wider data deficit that extends far beyond immigration. Reliable data and insights are not being used effectively across many sectors to plan for and manage growth.
Century Initiative is working to fill this gap through the publication of an annual national scorecard providing data and insights on Canada.
First published in 2021, the scorecard has 42 indicators, ranging from life expectancy to rural broadband availability to household debt. Canada’s progress on each indicator is assessed against specific indicator targets using data from the likes of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Statistics Canada.
The results in this year’s report, which will be published Monday, are not good. Canada is scored as “leading” and “on track” for only 10 out of the 42 indicators. That’s down, though not by much, from leading or on track for 11 out of 40 indicators from the previous year’s scorecard.
Drawing from the findings, three key areas demand our immediate focus and action.
First, we won’t achieve greater prosperity unless we focus and plan to grow well. Canada’s fertility rate score fell sharply to a record low of 1.33 children per woman, and the report clearly illustrates that it’s no wonder. Accompanying scores on Canada’s housing affordability and those related to support for families also fell or remain in need of dire attention. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Right now, Canada needs a war-time effort to put it out – to support both natural population growth and immigration growth through the housing and infrastructure needed for livable communities.
Second, we urgently need an economic recharge. The trendline in this arena is crystal clear. Canada’s score in early entrepreneurship, business spending on R&D and household debt are continuing to fall. The scorecard underlines this decline is not happening in a vacuum – it reveals exactly where Canada stands in relation to its economic peers. We clearly need new solutions to build a sustainable, resilient 21st-century economy, including meaningful tax reform and reducing barriers to foreign investment.
Third, we need a world-class, future-ready talent and labour pool. With Canada’s scores on citizenship rate and public support for immigration, we have our work cut for us. This will involve ensuring sustainable funding for our postsecondary institutions, addressing our credentials mismatch and enhancing our immigration planning process to restore public confidence in the integrity of the system.
There is a famous proverb: Vision without action is a daydream. For many Canadians, this is not just an adage but a direct account of our greatest national challenges, and the gaps between our best-laid plans and execution.
Too often in Canada, execution is insufficient or absent altogether, but there are solutions available if we are bold and focused enough to take them. The situation calls for us to reimagine and strengthen our vision of Canada’s future but also to execute as never before to bring it to life. Planning for growth isn’t a daydream – it’s a necessity. Let’s take decisive action now.