Increasing Canada’s population growth could be the response to U.S. tariffs: expert

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken over Canada’s federal election, as party leaders introduce policies to provide relief for Canadians in the face of tariffs. Though immigration is no longer a ballot box issue like it was projected to be before Trump’s policies, one expert says, it could possibly be the answer.

“Maybe immigration is the answer, not the problem,” said Myer Siemiatycki, a professor emeritus in the department of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“Suddenly, we’re afraid that we’re not going to have access to the American market, that Canada’s in trouble because it doesn’t have a large enough domestic market to maintain its current standard of living. Maybe immigration and increasing our population is the way to create a stronger, self-sufficient Canada.”

Siemiatycki suggests a population increase can provide economic relief, coming at a time when Canada can no longer rely on the U.S.

“The second largest geographic country in land mass in the world, which is Canada, could probably stand to have more than 40 to 41, 42 million people in it. If it did have more population in it, it would have a larger domestic market,” Siemiatycki said.

Immigration is no longer a ballot box issue, he said, but that’s not a bad thing.

“Canada’s preoccupation with immigration, I think, had been coming from a very negative kind of space.”

“Immigrants suddenly were being blamed for all kinds of issues, challenges, problems, that were perceived to be playing out in this country. Whether it was the affordability issue, the housing issue, whether it was the availability of medical care. Suddenly, the culprit in all of this was immigrants,” Siemiatycki said.

Siemiatycki said this negative sentiment became useful for some political leaders and voices in the country, where they targeted immigrants as the cause of Canada’s problems.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that immigration has declined somewhat as a top priority, top of mind, preoccupation of Canadians and political leaders.”

Liberal, Conservative party unveil immigration plans

Liberal party leader Mark Carney on Monday said he would manage immigration at lower levels until Canada has the capacity for more immigrants.

“We have not lived up to our promise to those we brought to this country,” Carney said.

Carney previously said he would keep the targets of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

“We need to manage lower immigration levels for a period of time, until we have those results and the capacity.”

Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre in March said he would slash immigration even further.

“We’re definitely going to cut back on the international student and temporary foreign worker program that got completely out of control during the Liberal government,” Poilievre told reporters at an ethnic media roundtable on March 24.

The conservative leader tied immigration rates to housing.

“We can’t increase our population by a million people a year, when we’re only adding 200,000 homes,” Poilievre said.

“That way, we always add more houses than we add more people. Which is the only way you get rid of the housing shortage.”

Poilievre also said he would crack down on false refugee claimants coming to Canada.

But Siemiatycki said Poilievre’s immigration cuts can be problematic.

“I think he is going to go even further by problematizing migration and immigrants, and kind of blaming, and putting blame on immigrants and refugees.”