Canada's new immigration plan under scrutiny amid housing supply shortage

A young new Canadian holds a flag as she takes part in a citizenship ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, to mark the 37th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

In an attempt to address the critical labour shortage in Canada, the federal government has announced plans to welcome half a million immigrants a year by 2025.

While the plan is welcome news for many, some question the logistics of it as the country faces a major housing supply shortage, including Paul Sullivan, a B.C. property tax expert and Ryan LLC partner.

"Where are we going to house these people? What about schools, parks and hospitals?" Sullivan said, adding that in order for this plan to work, more houses need to get built and fast.

"We only build 250,000 homes in Canada per year and we're going to increase immigration to 500,000 per year in an undersupplied market already. I understand the principle of needing the workers but we need to have a plan to house them," he said.

Tuesday's announcement has the City of Vancouver rejigging its plans.

In a statement, the city said, "City staff are currently assessing the implications of today’s federal announcement on existing housing targets found in the Housing Vancouver Strategy and Vancouver Plan, and intend to bring revised targets to Council in 2023."

Canada’s new plan puts a heavy emphasis on admitting more permanent residents with needed work skills and experience, alongside more-modest targets for family members and refugees.

"It's simple to me. Canada needs more people," said Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.

"If we don't do something to correct this demographic trend, the conversation we're going to have in 10-15 years from now won't be about labour shortages. It's going to be about whether we have the economic capacity to continue to fund schools and hospitals and public services that I think we too often take for granted," he continued.

Sasha Faris, the president of First Track Development, said housing isn't the only issue when it comes to retaining foreign workers, as the immigration application backlog sits at 1.6 million.

"It could be a missed opportunity if we still have all the bureaucratic red tape up in place that we can't actually get these people into the workforce fast enough," he said.

"As long as we're able to capture them and put them into the proper jobs that we need them to be in and help perpetuate the economy, it could be a positive thing," Faris added.

While it's clear more bodies are needed to fill one million vacant jobs, how Canada expects to house and process the applicants is still up in the air.