Madam Speaker, I am happy to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Today we are considering a motion that would instruct the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to undertake a study on immigration to Atlantic Canada.
I would like to first of all thank my colleague, the hon. member for Fundy Royal, for introducing this very important motion and for her dedicated service to the people of her riding and Atlantic Canada.
On behalf of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I would like to affirm what now sounds pretty much unanimous, which is the Government of Canada's full agreement with the hon. member's motion, and I encourage everyone in the House to join me in supporting Motion No. 39.
This motion proposes that a study on immigration to Atlantic Canada consider, among other things, “the challenges associated with an aging population and shrinking population base”. Atlantic Canada certainly faces a number of demographic challenges. A number of the speakers have already referred to this. It includes declining fertility rates and the long-standing trend of young residents leaving the region to settle and work elsewhere.
According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, the Atlantic provinces have the highest proportion of residents aged 65 or older and are among the provinces with the lowest proportion of residents aged 14 and under.
The motion also proposes that the study consider “possible recommendations on how to increase immigration to the region”. Indeed, Atlantic Canada faces a number of challenges in both attracting, and importantly, retaining immigrants. This is a theme I am going to return to.
We have heard some of the statistics. In 2014, 6.7% of the population lived in Atlantic Canada, but the region only accepted 3.1% of new immigrants. As well, we had a recent government study that found that about 40% of all new immigrants who arrived in the region between 2006 and 2011 actually moved on to other regions. Given those kinds of demographic and statistical realities, it is entirely appropriate and timely that the standing committee thoroughly study this issue in order to make thoughtful recommendations that will benefit the economic and social development of Atlantic Canada.
We know from recent experience that people in the Maritimes have a keen interest in this issue. In Atlantic Canada, people are acutely aware that immigration plays an important role in economic growth, and they would like more immigrants to settle there.
During our recent national effort to bring thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada in the span of a few months, Atlantic Canadians were particularly enthusiastic in their support.
Specifically, back in March, at a meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial ministers, Nova Scotia's immigration minister, who herself is the daughter of immigrants, proudly noted that her province is taking in almost five times the number of refugees it normally takes in a single year. Indeed, support for increased immigration has been expressed recently by all provincial governments in the context of the Syrian crisis.
All Atlantic premiers have voiced support for the resettlement of refugees in the region. I should underline here the importance the co-operation between this federal government and the four premiers in Atlantic Canada who have been participating, actively collaborating, and working on the Atlantic growth strategy with our government. The governments specifically of both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have indicated that they would welcome an even higher number of refugees.
However, refugees are only one part of the story. Our immigration system also has programs for reuniting families and recruiting and attracting economic immigrants.
Under one of our economic immigration programs, the provincial nominee program, participating provinces and territories develop economic immigration streams tailored to their regional needs and nominate candidates on the basis of their ability to contribute to their regional economies. This was raised directly by the Conservative member opposite, so I would point out to her and her colleagues that part of the pilot project we are announcing and have already promoted and will commence next year actually specifically deals with speed and space. What I mean by that is that this pilot program would provide provinces, including the Atlantic Canadian provinces, with a significant number of additional nominations outside the current provincial nominee program allocation. That addresses precisely what has been raised by the members opposite.
What is important to underline here is that we are trying to address the statistical reality. For example, in 2005, only 1.5% of new immigrants to Canada were destined for any of the Atlantic provinces. By 2014, thanks in part to the PNP, that percentage had doubled to more than 3.1%. Is there still room for more growth? Absolutely.
Since the introduction of express entry in 2015, the Atlantic provinces have been given the opportunity to bring in even more immigrants than ever before. As we know, Atlantic Canada has a lot to offer potential immigrants: diverse economies, welcoming communities, terrific parliamentary representatives, incredible geographic beauty, and a picturesque lifestyle that is the envy of many. I will add to that, by the by, that I know about this first-hand, having married a townie from the wonderful province of Newfoundland.
The region has also capitalized on its existing learning, research, and innovation advantages through its strong post secondary institutions, some of which were mentioned by the member for Fundy Royal. That has helped to attract a growing number of international students.
Atlantic Canada's supportive business environment and entrepreneurial culture have also facilitated the arrival of many immigrant entrepreneurs, who have started small businesses and are providing a very necessary solution to business succession needs in the region.
However, in spite of the many positives, there are still issues that warrant further study, as recommended by this motion. For instance, of all the immigrants who landed in the Atlantic provinces between 2006 and 2011, only 60% were still resident in their original province of destination in 2011, compared with 90% who remain in western provinces and 93% who remain in Ontario.
What explains this phenomenon? As the minister has learned during extensive consultations in the region just this past summer, many newcomers leave Atlantic Canada for economic reasons, because the region has, unfortunately, a higher than average unemployment rate. Others leave for socio-cultural reasons, and are drawn to relatives or larger diaspora communities in bigger, more diverse urban centres, such as Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver.
Clearly, a study on immigration to Atlantic Canada must have a strong focus on fostering strategies to both successfully integrate and successfully retain immigrants in the region. That, again, goes to the point about retention.
The Government of Canada's support for this motion to study increased immigration to Atlantic Canada is consistent with our desire for an open, accepting, and generous immigration system. We would also suggest that for any study of this sort, the committee collaborate with other committees studying related areas, such as temporary foreign workers, as raised by the NDP member opposite.
We would encourage the committee to engage with the provincial governments that I mentioned, the provincial premiers, who have firsthand expertise. We would also suggest, and has been mentioned twice now in the House today, that the committee pay particular attention to the role of official languages in increasing immigration to Atlantic Canada.
The vast majority of francophone minority communities in Atlantic Canada are seeing a sharp decline in their population and would benefit greatly from an increase in francophone immigrants.
Before I move for overall support for the motion, I will move a friendly amendment to the motion by the member for Fundy Royal, that the motion be amended by replacing all of the words after (ii) with the following:
retention of current residents and the challenges of retaining new immigrants, (iii) possible recommendations on how to increase immigration to the region, (iv) analysis of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot initiatives associated with the Atlantic growth strategy; and that the committee report its findings to the House within one year of the adoption of this motion.
On that basis, I strongly support Motion No. 39 that we are debating today, as does the government. I encourage all members who are not present and have not heard this debate yet to join all of us in supporting this motion.