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Montreal urged to attract more skilled migrants 27 September 2007 • Media Center » Video Immigration News Montreal International (MI), an organization devoted to promoted the economic well-being of the Montreal, Canada, presented a paper recommending that measures be implemented aimed at attracting and retaining skilled migrants from abroad. The paper was presented as part of the National Assembly's Committee in Culture on planning immigration levels between 2008 and 2010. "The presence of skilled, talented and creative workers is the primary success factor for urban centres with knowledge-based economies, and these workers allow a region like Greater Montréal to increase its competitiveness and ability to attract foreign companies and investment," said Pierre Brunet, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Montreal International. "Given the intensified global competition and the resulting challenges in attracting 'brains,' it is imperative for our current and future prosperity that governments adopt measures that encourage the most qualified candidates to move, work and live here," he added. Latest news To facilitate this goal, MI proposed a series of initiatives to attract and retain skilled foreign labor in the Metropolitan Montreal region. The region has a particular need for high-technology workers, including people skilled in Information and Communications Technology, Aerospace, and Life Sciences. The initiatives include simplifying procedures in obtaining work permits, getting help from the government of Quebec in recruiting overseas workers, and promoting permanent residency over temporary migration. They would also like to see Quebec simplify its selection procedures for temporary workers. Currently, candidates from abroad are asked to hand in the same documents as candidates who live in Quebec, even if they have already handed in the documents required to obtain a work permit. MI also proposed an immigration agreement with France to promote maintaining the "francophone nature of Quebec". It suggested that the Quebec and Canadian governments initiate dialog with the French government to reach an agreement on the free movement of professionals.

Six Canadian cities out of 50 have the winning combination that attract migrants * Six Canadian cities out of 50 have the winning combination that attract migrants 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. http://www.muchmormagazine.com/2010/01/six-canadian-cities-out-of-50-have-the-winning-combination-that-attract-migrants/

Calgary's homeless population balloons As thousands of migrants have poured into Calgary, housing costs spiralled out of the range for many of those at the lower end of the income spectrum.Dean Bicknell/Canwest News ServiceAs thousands of migrants have poured into Calgary, housing costs spiralled out of the range for many of those at the lower end of the income spectrum. Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 CALGARY -- Calgary's homeless population has reached more than 4,000 - an increase of 18.2% since 2006, according to this year's homeless count. As of May 14, there were 4,060 homeless people in Calgary. Officials cannot explain it but the rate of homeless families jumped dramatically to 197 from 145 in 2006 -- an increase of 36%. Calgary in many ways has been a victim of its own success. As thousands of migrants poured into the city over the past number of years, housing costs spiralled out of the range for many of those at the lower end of the income spectrum. Alberta does not have any traditional rent controls. The average rent for a two-bedroom unit in Calgary is now $1,100. Many of Calgary's homeless are employed - as many as 60% staying at the downtown Mustard Seed Street Ministry, said operations manager Floyd Perras. Mike Nault, 40, who hails from Winnipeg, said he has been living on Calgary's streets with his girlfriend, Debbie Reid, for eight months. "The stress level of being on the street is just phenomenal," said Mr. Nault, who regularly works temporary construction jobs. Ms. Reid said she drinks up to two dozen beers a day because it is "depressing" being homeless. "You turn to self-medication." Civic and business leaders have come up with a 10-year plan to end homelessness. The province has followed up with tens of millions of dollars more for affordable housing and the creation of a Secretariat for Action on Homelessness. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=659002

Monday, September 29, 2008 Migration 2006/2007 Previous release Data are now available on the number of individuals who moved between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. At the provincial level, Alberta had the highest net migration rate, with 16.4 people for every 1,000 population. British Columbia followed and Ontario was third. Among census metropolitan areas, the highest net inflow occurred in Kelowna, which had a net inflow of 22.0 migrants for every 1,000 residents. Edmonton and Calgary were second and third, respectively. In absolute terms, Toronto had the highest net inflow, with 74,195 more people moving into the metropolitan area than moving out. Vancouver ranked second and Montréal third. Of the 33 metropolitan areas, 29 had a net inflow from migration, while 4 experienced a net outflow. Among census divisions, the highest net inflow relative to population size occurred in Division No. 16 in Alberta, which includes Fort McMurray. It had a net inflow of 53.5 migrants for every 1,000 population. This was almost twice the net gain of the previous year, reflecting the robust economy related to oil sands development. Note: Migration data reflect interprovincial and international movements as well as intraprovincial moves between census metropolitan areas or census divisions. Moves across town or across the street are excluded. Migration estimates (91C0025, various prices) are available for the provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census divisions. Five tables covering these levels of geography provide data on origin and destination, as well as the age, the sex and the median income of migrants. 2006/2007 2006/2007 2005/2006 in out net net rate per 1,000 population Kelowna1 10,817 7,124 3,693 22.0 ... Edmonton 52,242 34,803 17,439 16.5 21.0 Calgary 61,456 43,551 17,905 16.2 21.5 Toronto 175,127 100,932 74,195 13.7 17.3 Vancouver 78,021 47,919 30,102 13.3 16.4 Saskatoon 12,671 9,610 3,061 12.9 5.8 Regina 8,730 6,809 1,921 9.6 0.5 Victoria 15,295 12,144 3,151 9.4 7.2 Oshawa 15,698 12,770 2,928 8.5 10.5 Barrie1 10,964 9,477 1,487 8.2 ... Moncton1 5,882 4,830 1,052 8.1 ... Ottawa–Gatineau 45,212 36,633 8,579 7.3 7.1 Abbotsford 10,586 9,506 1,080 6.6 6.8 St. John's 6,608 5,403 1,205 6.6 5.0 Guelph1 7,235 6,368 867 6.6 ... Halifax 15,754 13,254 2,500 6.5 3.8 London 17,450 14,430 3,020 6.4 6.8 Kitchener 19,638 16,783 2,855 6.2 8.0 Winnipeg 24,003 19,603 4,400 6.2 2.3 Sherbrooke 7,979 6,797 1,182 6.2 5.3 Brantford1 5,440 4,629 811 6.0 ... Montréal 91,421 69,731 21,690 5.9 5.6 Québec 20,123 15,953 4,170 5.7 5.9 Trois-Rivières 5,266 4,494 772 5.4 6.0 Hamilton 24,236 21,579 2,657 3.7 3.7 Kingston 7,395 6,914 481 3.1 0.8 Greater Sudbury 5,230 4,818 412 2.5 5.2 Peterborough1 4,701 4,446 255 2.2 ... Saint John 3,411 3,378 33 0.3 -1.7 St. Catharines–Niagara 9,996 10,046 -50 -0.1 2.0 Thunder Bay 3,920 4,331 -411 -3.3 -5.9 Saguenay 3,487 4,281 -794 -5.2 -7.1 Windsor 8,519 10,293 -1,774 -5.3 -0.7 Provincial migration 2006/2007 2006/2007 2005/2006 in out net net rate per 1,000 population Alberta 181,291 126,035 55,256 16.4 20.3 British Columbia 169,068 118,281 50,787 11.8 12.3 Ontario 428,738 338,108 90,630 7.1 9.6 Yukon 1,472 1,309 163 5.2 0.4 Saskatchewan 40,058 35,408 4,650 4.7 -4.7 Quebec 197,757 168,238 29,519 3.9 4.4 Manitoba 39,686 35,171 4,515 3.8 1.1 Prince Edward Island 3,316 3,481 -165 -1.2 -2.5 New Brunswick 21,104 22,494 -1,390 -1.9 -2.6 Nova Scotia 26,706 28,678 -1,972 -2.1 -1.1 Northwest Territories 2,392 2,532 -140 -3.3 -20.4 Nunavut 897 1,037 -140 -4.6 -4.7 Newfoundland and Labrador 13,986 17,938 -3,952 -7.7 -7.5 http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080929/d080929c.htm