Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 4th, 2026

[Christopher Worswick]

Yes, I think it's important, but I'm far from confident that the policy would help. That's my concern.

We're not able to target permanent immigrants to particular spots. With temporary migrants, we have more control. You might bring someone to Toronto who is a francophone. They may not interact very much with other francophones or individuals wanting to speak French. They then have the right to move to Montreal or Quebec City because they're permanent residents. These are my concerns about that.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I understand your point. This doesn't mean that we agree, but I understand.

In that case, would the opposite be true?

Would anglophone immigration to Quebec undermine our economic objectives? As the saying goes, “what's good for the goose is good for the gander”. Good luck with that.

[Christopher Worswick]

I think I understand your question, sir.

I wasn't planning to talk about the Quebec selection system today. I'm not suggesting—

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

You really did say, roughly speaking, that francophone immigration outside Quebec was undermining our economic objectives.

I'm asking you whether the opposite is true. Would anglophone immigration to Quebec undermine our economic objectives?

[Christopher Worswick]

I think I understand your question.

I would say that it would be if the anglophones going to Quebec under the federal system—I'm guessing—were to have lower earnings.

I'm agnostic on the language issue. The federal program should be geared to generating immigrants' earnings, 10 years out, that are above average. If that's not happening, then I would agree that it's a problem.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I would humbly suggest—take it as you will—that you keep certain things in mind when you give these types of remarks. Language is a highly sensitive topic, especially in minority communities outside Quebec. For francophones outside Quebec, francophone immigration is extremely important, even vital, for the survival and growth of their communities.

In that case, it isn't just a matter of looking at things from an economic perspective. In my view, it also has good economic potential, in any event. Take it as you will. Honestly, I'm not passing any judgment. It's just a suggestion. In a country that claims to have two official languages, it's important to support minority language communities.

This brings me to you, Mr. Amoussou. Unfortunately, my time is running out. I would have liked to ask you more questions.

What are the main barriers faced by newcomers in the early stages of the immigration process?

[Luc Bonaventure Amoussou]

First, the main barrier for newcomers is basically the difficulty of finding a job that really matches their skills and that makes them feel valued. They always start by finding precarious work that doesn't pay well. It takes them time to reach their full potential.

Second, at this time, especially in Ontario, housing has become an issue. Without any credit, it's hard to get accepted by landlords. This is becoming a real issue. We find that people are increasingly being asked to pay a deposit that sometimes amounts to six months' rent before they can get a place to live.

Third, another major barrier for francophones in general and for allophones is the language learning process. We've had many people come here from other countries. It takes at least four years to really acquire a functional level of English. Some people don't want to do so, but this only delays their economic integration and their success.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Brunelle‑Duceppe and Mr. Amoussou.

That ends our first round.

Our second round is five minutes. We will begin with Mr. Fred Davies.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Professor, I'd like to follow up on a couple of things that have piqued my interest in your thesis on how wages need to rise in order to attract labour.

In your view—and you've looked at the current Canadian immigration policy—is the policy, as it's being delivered now, on a broad basis, suppressing wages?

[Christopher Worswick]

An argument could be made.... I have another paper from 2020 in the Canadian Journal of Economics that looked at the temporary foreign worker program. It used data from around the time of the Harper government, not from the most recent period. We came up with a theoretical model and empirical evidence that suggested the temporary foreign worker program could be suppressing and lowering wages.

I think the bigger concern, probably, is whether we see wage growth. Are we stopping the wage growth? Is it lowering wages? I'm not so sure. However, I would be concerned that wages are not growing, that so-called labour shortages are becoming chronic and that we're relying on temporary foreign worker programs and on less-skilled permanent immigration to solve a problem that is addressed in many countries just through wage growth.

At the same time, I hear well-intentioned people complaining about poverty rates and income inequality. The best way to fix these problems is through wage growth. I'll stop there.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

It's okay.

I want to cover a couple of areas, but I have limited time.

[Christopher Worswick]

I get that. Sure, of course.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Do you see any regional differences in the way wages are growing or not growing? Do you see a disproportionate...?

[Christopher Worswick]

That's a good question.

Off the top of my head, I'm guessing wages are probably growing faster in Alberta because of the strength of the resource sector there. I'd have to look at the numbers to know for sure.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

One of you mentioned skills gaps. I hope you've been following what's been happening in the post-secondary sector, in which there have been puppy mills of temporary students coming into the country, as the committee has studied in quite some depth. One of the issues and problems I have seen is that the government changed how graduates can get and maintain a job and a path to permanent residency. It's effectively stopped now.

In my riding, I have Niagara College, a very significant educational institution. They have a world-class culinary arts program, brewing program and distilling program, and there are two-, three- and four-year programs. It used to be the case that you could get a work permit for the equivalency of the time you were in school; now, if you graduate, you have to leave.

I happen to own a brewery, so I'm looking for brewers all the time. I can't get them now, especially in this program, because the people who graduate have to leave. However, the person who gets a.... Not to disrespect the liberal arts, but if you have a degree in sociology, you can still stay for the equivalent time of your education. Do you see that as a problem? Would you make recommendations to change that?

[Christopher Worswick]

I have written a few Globe and Mail opinion pieces on these issues, and I'm happy to chat afterwards.

I think I'm pretty consistent on this: International students are great for Canada, but we have to get the design and the balance right. Whether someone stays or not, I would use the same criteria I've been talking about for the economic immigration program. At least permanently.... An international student should stay as an economic immigrant if we think that, 10 years from now, their earnings are going to be above average. This is going to be true of some college programs; it's going to be true of some—but not all—university programs. I think it's the fair way to do it. Otherwise, you're going to say, “You're a university professor; you're favouring universities.” I think we should let the data drive it.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Anecdotally, because I can tell you you're absolutely right about the impact of wage growth, we have seen substantial growth in wages in the sector I'm in simply because we can't find the labour. You end up paying more for labour, and it then attracts people, who do get paid more. As you mentioned, your research suggests immigration policy should provide a 10-year above average of the current wages.

[Christopher Worswick]

A 10-year period—

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Davies.

Sorry, Professor Worswick, we're over time. You can answer the next one, if that's okay.

We have five minutes from Mr. Zuberi.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

I'll start off with Professor Worswick.

I'm wondering if you are familiar with the context of Quebec and employment for immigrants.

[Christopher Worswick]

I've lost the last sentence.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

I'm curious, are you familiar with the context in Quebec as it relates to immigrant communities and employment?

[Christopher Worswick]

I'm somewhat aware, but probably not as well aware as for the rest of the country.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

I can appreciate that, given where you're situated.

Would you say you are familiar with the headlines and broad strokes?

[Christopher Worswick]

I think so.