Six Canadian cities out of 50 have the winning combination that attract migrants

Source:Muchmore Canada magazine.
Calgary, Waterloo, Ottawa, Vancouver, St. John’s and Richmond Hill have what migrants are looking for when choosing where to locate, according to the Conference Board’s second report assessing the attractiveness of Canadian cities. Read the report here.

“Cities that fail to attract new people will struggle to stay prosperous and vibrant,” said Mario Lefebvre, Director, Centre for Municipal Studies. “These six cities come out on top across all rankings, so they appear to have an overall winning combination that is attractive to migrants. Although it would be hard to imagine a more diverse group of cities, each has particular strengths that make them magnets to newcomers, both from within Canada and abroad.”

City Magnets II: Benchmarking the Attractiveness of 50 Canadian Cities, analyzes and benchmarks the features that make Canadian cities attractive to skilled workers and mobile populations. The performance of these cities is compared on 41 indicators grouped across seven categories: Society, Health, Economy, Environment, Education, Innovation, and Housing.

The challenge in determining overall attractiveness is that when individuals are choosing a new city, they value attributes of city living differently. Weights were computed for each of the seven categories. For migrants with a university degree, the Education category matters the most (21 per cent) in the decision to locate, followed by Society (20 per cent), Innovation (19 per cent) and Economy (13 per cent). Migrants without a university education consider, in an overwhelming fashion, that the Economy category matters the most (33 per cent) and followed by Society (20 per cent).

“In deciding where to live, university-educated migrants prefer cities with higher Education and Society outcomes. Migrants without a university education place more value on a city’s economic strength,” said Lefebvre. “However, the study shows that a city that is attractive to a certain type of migrant ends up being attractive to all, so policy makers must be cautious in crafting policies aimed at attracting university graduates only.”

Overall Grades

The six “A” performers – Calgary, Waterloo, Ottawa, Vancouver, St. John’s and Richmond Hill, Ont. – range between big and small cities, from the West Coast to the East Coast, and include both urban and suburban centres. Specifically:

* Calgary’s strong economic results come as no surprise given its performance over the past decade, but the city also ranked first in Innovation and second in Housing.
* Waterloo’s worldwide reputation for high-tech excellence in education and business is well deserved. Ranked number-one in Education, Waterloo also posted strong results in Economy, Innovation and Housing.
* Ottawa reaps the benefits of a strong and well-educated public sector. The nation’s capital excels in Innovation and Education, and, apart from Health, scores well across all categories.
* Richmond Hill, a fast-growing city north of Toronto, has become the second most diverse city in Canada. A well-educated workforce contributes to its high scores in the Education and Innovation categories.
* Vancouver enjoys an enviable climate and a vibrancy that comes from its young, diverse, and multicultural population.
* St. John’s has achieved a strong productivity level that even surpasses that of Calgary and Edmonton. It is also a stellar performer in Health and Environment categories.

The “B” class includes 14 cities – Edmonton, Victoria, Markham, Vaughan, Kingston, Oakville, and Guelph are consistently in the top half of this group. The City of Toronto also earns an overall “B” grade. Although held back by lacklustre results in the Health and Environment categories (too few physicians for such a large population, and too many days of poor air quality), the City of Toronto leads all cities in the Society category, particularly the proportion of foreign-born population and the proportion of population employed in cultural occupations. In all, the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA) obtains five of the top 14 spots. The Toronto CMA attracted 35 per cent of Canada’s immigrants (about 85,000 per year) between 2001 and 2006, but this is partly offset by migrants – 25,000 annually – leaving for other Canadian cities. London, Halifax, Lévis, Regina, Québec City, and Burlington also receive “B” grades.

A total of 21 cities get “C” grades, including three of Canada’s largest urban centres: Winnipeg, Montréal, and Hamilton. Although an overall “C”, Mississauga – with its high number of immigrants – gets a “B” in attractiveness among university-educated migrants. Four of Vancouver’s suburbs – Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Surrey – earn “C” grades, as does nearby Abbotsford. Generally, Vancouver’s suburbs lag behind in Health and Economy. Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Kitchener, Barrie, Saskatoon, Moncton, Brampton, Kelowna, Thunder Bay, Peterborough, St. Catharines, and Sudbury also get “C” grades.

The “D” class includes nine small or mid-sized cities – four in Ontario: Oshawa, Brantford, Windsor, and Cambridge; four in Quebec: Longueuil, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, and Laval, and Saint John, New Brunswick. Along with struggling economies in most cases, seven of these nine cities have shown little population growth, while the other two posted a decline in population (Saint John and Saguenay). These nine cities are also clustered near the bottom of the Innovation and Education categories.

Performance By Category

* Society – Canada’s largest cities post the best results, with Toronto and Montreal capturing the only two “A” grades. Toronto’s suburbs rank highly, as do Vancouver and Victoria.
* Health – Small and mid-sized cities dominate this category, which mainly measures per capita access to care. Only Kingston and St. John’s get “A” grades. Vancouver and Quebec City are the only big cities to rank in the top 10. Suburban cities, which rely on services located in the urban cores, face the greatest challenges – 10 of the bottom 12 are neighbours of either Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.
* Economy – Although the rankings are based on 2006 data and pre-date the recession, the Conference Board expects cities with strong economies back then to rebound and post the strongest showing following the downturn. Calgary, Edmonton and Vaughan earn the only “A” grades in the ranking; Edmonton’s strong economy makes it particularly attractive to non-university educated migrants. Five Toronto-area suburbs make the top 10. Ottawa and Waterloo also rank in the top 10.
* Environment – Seven of the eight cities in British Columbia included in this report earn “A” grades and dominate the top 10 rankings, due largely to good air quality and a mild climate. Montreal ranks last and Longueuil is also near the bottom. Mississauga, Burlington, Vaughan and Oakville also earn “D” grades.
* Education – The “university towns” of Waterloo and Kingston outclass their counterparts and earn the only two “A” grades. Small and mid-sized cities dominate the results for teachers per student population, with four small Ontario cities (Burlington, Waterloo, Peterborough and Guelph) grabbing all the “A” grades on this indicator.
* Innovation – Calgary, Richmond Hill and Ottawa get “As” for Innovation. Cities with broad manufacturing or resource-based economies generally fare less well in this category.
* Housing – Small and mid-sized cities generally do the best in this category, thanks in particular to relatively affordable housing. The Quebec City suburb of Lévis leads all cities, and five other Quebec cities rank in the top 10. The opposite is true for all eight B.C. cities, where homes are generally expensive. As a result, these cities fall in the bottom half of the rankings and five of them, including Victoria and the Lower Mainland cities, get “D” grades.

The research was funded by 15 municipal and regional organizations from across Canada. The full report (120 pages) is available from the Conference Board’s e-library for a price of $225.

Helping to spread the word

Posted By DAVE DALE, THE NUGGET


North Bay turned a page Monday in its strategy to attract immigrants to help fill the void being created by a baby boomer generation nearing retirement.

A new website portal was unveiled at the Best Western Lakeshore Drive that highlights why the city is a good choice for a new home or business investment, as well as links to services assisting immigrant transitions.

Three consulting firms were involved in the research and design of the site funded by a $270,000 grant from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

Nipissing MPP Monique Smith said it's part of a $10-million initiative across the province allowing 18 communities to showcase their assets.

The goal is to get new Canadians to consider places outside Toronto, where the majority of immigrants settle.

Mayor Vic Fedeli said boomers are leaving their jobs

by the thousands" across Canada and North Bay firms are telling him they may not be able to keep their offices here without trained individuals to replace retirees.

We need immigrants in North Bay," Fedeli said, describing how five senior staff are soon leaving city jobs and it's the same at Ontario Northland, the Ministry of Transportation, Canadore College and Nipissing University.

He said the fears about finding professionals echo in the private sector with Redpath Engineering and Cementation warning him that North Bay doesn't have the bodies to fill positions.

It's very important to be proactive to solve that problem . . . in North Bay we are ahead of the curve," he said, referring to the North Bay Newcomer Network, North Bay and District Multicultural Centre and the new website.

Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota said the portal gives prospective immigrants a broader view of the opportunities here, describing how his grandfather arrived on Ellis Island in New York in 1902.

Rota said the only information his grandfather had was word from a friend who worked for the railway in North Bay.

It really makes it easier," he said, adding that it may also help landed immigrants living in other parts of Canada who may want to relocate.

Marla Tremblay, the city's economic development officer, said the province will soon offer translation into 14 languages for some of the static portions of the website.

But Tremblay said many parts of the website involve data that changes regularly, making translation expensive, and she said they wouldn't want newcomers to expect services in their language.

She said three separate requests for proposals were tendered for the research necessary to build a site that serves a specific purpose, gathering of information from service providers and site design.

ddale@nugget.ca

It’s time to maximize benefits from international students

The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade, released an important study last week that demonstrates how international students contribute significantly to Canada’s economy.

The report, The Economic Impact of International Education in Canada, contains some remarkable numbers, beginning with $6.5 billion – the total amount spent by the 178,000 international students in Canada last year. This figure is greater than the values of the export of coal and coniferous lumber – two of our traditionally largest export sectors. According to the report, education services are Canada’s number one export to China and the second largest export to South Korea. The presence of international students at Canadian institutions provided employment for over 83,000 Canadians and generated more than $291 million in government revenue.

The magnitude of these figures provides additional evidence to support our call for a new investment to assist our member institutions in attracting this global talent to pursue their education and research here in Canada.

These economic outcomes are only the most recent indication of the benefits associated with international students, while they are here studying and after graduation, whether they choose to return home or put their expertise and knowledge to work in Canada.

While studying here, students from abroad bring diverse perspectives, expertise and skills to Canadian classrooms and labs and contribute to creating global, 21st-century institutions of education and research across Canada. This positive effect is not restricted to just the largest urban centres. The presence of international students at our institutions in smaller communities brings together many cultures from around the world which in turn, infuses the broader community with diversity.

When they graduate from our schools and return to their countries of origin, many become business, governmental and academic leaders, creating international networks that strengthen Canada’s economic and diplomatic ties abroad.

When they choose to stay here, foreign graduates bring significant economic and social benefits to Canada as an ideal source of highly qualified people for the skilled labour market – already integrated into our communities and without any of the barriers related to foreign credential recognition. A forthcoming report from the Canadian Bureau for International Education indicates that 52 percent of university students and 71 percent of college students intend to stay to work in Canada for up to three years after they graduate. Given that international students largely graduate in business and engineering, they represent a top talent pool matched to our labour market needs.

Now added to the list of benefits is this fresh evidence of the immediate economic impact of international students to Canada. As we begin to emerge from the current economic downturn, the potential of this significant sector of our economy needs to be realized.

The Government of Canada recognizes the linkages between international students and our economic competitiveness and we welcome the Minister’s commitment to work with us to market Canada as the destination of choice for students. Progress has been made through recent government measures such as the development of a new education brand, improvements to immigration policies and processes, and the creation of the new Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships. Still, the efforts of other countries continue to eclipse those of Canada through major government-funded branding and marketing initiatives.

Now is the time to maximize the many benefits of bringing Canadian education to the world. On behalf of the key national educational associations representing the spectrum of institutions across the country – universities, colleges, public school boards and language schools, we are calling for a significant new government investment in an international student recruitment strategy that promotes the excellence of Canada’s education system to the many talented students abroad.

Source:http://www.aucc.ca/publications/media/2009/embassy_oped_11_11_e.html

Canada assesses official language requirements for temporary foreign workers

Canada
January 6 2010
Source:Seyfarth Shaw LLP

On December 30, 2009, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued new guidance on assessing the language requirement for temporary foreign workers.

Current Canadian regulations state that immigration officers shall deny an application for a work permit to a foreign national if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant cannot perform the duties stated in the work permit application. In this regard, immigration officers are instructed to assess temporary foreign workers’ knowledge of French or English before issuing a work permit, irrespective of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level of the intended position in Canada.

In their assessment, immigration officers may consider the working conditions and/or any efforts undertaken by the employer to accommodate the limitations of the applicant’s proficiency in English or French, as well as resulting potential safety concerns. Immigration officers may also consider the terms in the actual job offer, in addition to the more generalized requirements stated in the NOC, in order to determine whether the applicant’s lack of language skills could compromise his/her ability to perform the job.

However, immigration officers are not authorized to consider perceived challenges the applicant might face in interacting with the broader community if it is not relevant to his/her job performance.

It is likely that immigration officers will require, going forward, proof from official testing (IELTS for English or TEF for French) for candidates whose native language is neither English nor French.

Canada Bucks Global Trend on Immigration

George Abraham (Diplomat)

4 January 2010
The Canadian city of Edmonton —· popular among Arab tourists thanks to a gargantuan mall — was the coldest place on earth in mid-December, along with a Siberian place called Dzalinda.

The mercury hovered at -46 degree C, but the wind made it seem more like -58 degree C. But such extreme temperatures have not stopped Canada being the warmest towards immigrants, in fact, making it the only country to buck a global trend towards lowering the gates.

In recent months, several European governments, including Spain, Ireland, Denmark and the Czech Republic, have paid immigrants enticing sums of money to go back to where they came from. Not Canada, though. The government has said it will continue to welcome a quarter-million new immigrants a year, but will conversely tighten the refugee determination system that is seen by many as too liberal.

With high unemployment and a large number of citizens on welfare in all of the so-called First World, admitting newcomers who are likely to contribute to both is seen as politically un-doable. Canada, however, is following a different tack. “We are planning for the economic recovery,” says a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, alluding to several positive indicators that have surfaced in recent weeks foretelling an economy on the rebound. Compare this with Australia’s 15 per cent cut in immigrant intake in the wake of the economic downturn.

However, Ottawa’s stay-the-course approach is bound to be balanced by a tougher attitude to refugee applications, which were set to record a dramatic increase until the government stepped in with visa restrictions on travellers from the Czech Republic and Mexico. The fear of human smugglers taking advantage of a sympathetic refugee system took on new urgency in October when a batch of 76 Sri Lankan Tamils landed in British Columbia aboard a ramshackle freighter. Every one of them filed refugee applications, but few have made it beyond the gates of a detention centre as the government goes the extra mile to conduct background checks and ensure they are not Tamil Tiger guerrillas out to turn Toronto into an alternative capital for their grievances. In the words of a government spokesperson, “We can’t allow the creation of a two-tier immigration system: one tier for people who wait patiently and legally in the queue to come to Canada and another for profiteers, for those who engage the services of snakeheads and human trafficking groups.” Besides domestic pressure for a refugee screening system that is less prone to exploitation, American concerns over Canada serving as a backdoor into the US homeland has resulted in tougher questioning of applicants.

The overriding message to what the Economist recently called the world of “footloose talent” is that Canada remains open to immigrants, even at a time when Western economies stare at the prospect of sustained 10 per cent unemployment well into the next decade. To the Canadian mind, this is a myopic view that will prove counter-productive in the long term. The need for immigrants to replace an aging population and thereby ensure that there are always more workers paying into pension funds than retirees remains a paramount calculation. It may also be that a recession may not be a good time to cut back on immigrant intake, which has the desirable effect of transferring wealth from rich nations to the 
developing world.

This transfer is worth an annual $283 billion, but may be impacted if immigrants lose their jobs or there is a fall in the overall numbers gaining residence in industrialised nations. In a macro-economic sense, immigration has the unintended consequence of lifting families out of poverty thereby diminishing the “push” factors that drive people to flee their countries of birth.

But with many magnets for mobile human capital, Canada and its provinces are learning to be nimble in the pursuit of top talent. A recent instance was the relocation of 80 Indian IT consultants from Hartford, Connecticut, to two Atlantic cities — Charlottetown and Halifax — following the collapse of the Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services. Living in the US on work-dependent visas that were threatened following the troubles of the Indian computer giant, the governments of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Nova Scotia are reported to have worked actively with a Canadian company to make a smooth switchover. Another factor that makes Canada an attractive home for immigrants is its religious tolerance. According to a recent study conducted by the Pew Center for Religion and Public Life, Canada ranks among the most tolerant on a global scale.


George Abraham is an Ottawa-based 
commentator. For feedback, write to 
opinion@khaleejtimes.com

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