The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
Financial Post – Strong immigration has helped slow population aging in Canada
Canada’s population aging slowed for a second straight year as a result of strong immigration, including a recent boom in foreign students and temporary workers.
The median age — which divides the population into two groups of equal size and is a key measure for a country’s age distribution — fell to 40.6 years, from 40.9, over a one-year period to July 1, 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released Feb. 21.
CTV News – Leaving Canada? International student explains why he’s considering it
Despite long being touted as a nation rife with opportunity for new arrivals, a pair of studies is sparking concern that Canada is struggling to retain immigrants and highlighting affordability concerns within the country.
Le Devoir – Quelles sont les langues maternelles des Canadiens?
La langue maternelle, bien qu’elle n’est pas synonyme de langue d’usage au quotidien, permet de dresser un portrait intéressant de la réalité identitaire et linguistique au pays. « Le recensement de 2021 a montré une grande pluralité linguistique que je trouve importante de noter », souligne Chedly Belkhodja, professeur titulaire de l’École des affaires publiques et communautaires de l’Université Concordia. L’immigration au pays, qui ne risque pas de faiblir dans les années à venir malgré des mesures mises en place pour la réguler, explique cette pluralité florissante, selon lui.
CBC – Mayor seeks federal funding to house asylum seekers
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is calling on the federal government to fund housing for asylum seekers in his city, claiming the majority of people in the shelter system are newcomers to Canada.
Sutcliffe said in a recent social media video he toured a temporary shelter where “100 per cent of the clients … are individuals who are seeking asylum.”
CTV News – Mexico says it’s addressing the high number of asylum requests to Canada
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that his government is addressing a complaint from Canada over the high number of asylum requests from Mexicans.
According to data from the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Commission, between January and September 2023, Mexicans made the most asylum requests, with 17,500, well above Haitians, who made the second-highest number of requests with just over 8,500.
CBC – Why Alberta is giving the tourism industry its own immigration stream
As Alberta hopes to more than double the size of its tourism economy in the next decade, the provincial government is taking a new step to fill labour gaps by giving the industry its own dedicated immigration stream.
The industry hopes the program will help fix its long-standing labour shortage, but critics say the program could have unintended consequences.
Meanwhile, a national tourism industry group is watching the new policy and hopes to see it adopted more widely.
