The Global Talent War is Here. Is Canada Ready?

International talent is a hot commodity—pandemic be damned.

To combat labour shortages, countries from Australia to Germany have relaxed visa rules to lure immigrant professionals. In Singapore, policymakers have vowed to raise salaries for immigrant workers and punish discriminatory hiring. Developing countries are upping their game, too. China and India, for example, are dangling incentives to entice their overseas students to return.

In February, Canada will update its new immigration targets for 2022-2024, following a bumper year for immigration. In 2021, it admitted 401,000 permanent residents, the highest in history. The momentum is likely to continue as Canada looks to attract more international talent to help drive growth.

Meanwhile, regional conflicts have erupted anew, displacing millions. In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s return to power last summer led to a migration exodus. Last winter, refugees from the Middle East massed on the border between Poland and Belarus, begging to enter the European Union. Fleeing ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, over one million Rohingyas have resettled in Bangladesh.

In uprooting old lives, immigrants see a chance for a brighter future. Yet wealthy nations, buffeted by rapidly aging workforces and low birth rates, also count on newcomers to replenish their shrinking workforces.

In Canada, immigrants are expected to account for 30% of Canada’s population by 2036, up from 21% today. “Newcomers and refugees have long been the motor of Canada’s society and economy,” Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said in January. “Our country has a proud tradition of being an international leader in resettlement and integration.”

That integration will encompass a diverse group of newcomers. In recent years, the Federal Government has expanded pathways to permeant residency for many temporary foreign workers, including farmers.

Future immigrants to Canada will fall anywhere between those who have physics degrees and those who do the physical work. After all, the Canadian economy is powered by a worker picking your favourite summer fruit as well as a coding whiz tasked to make your online shopping a breeze.

Amid an aging population and labour shortages, Canada will not be the only country competing for international talent.