09/03/2026
Immigration Is the Backbone of Canada — But We Need to Talk About What Really Happened
Immigration is the backbone of Canada.
And if, from time to time, we walk through the pages of Canadian history, we can see that there have been several occasions when Canada experienced mass immigration.
During those periods, Canada needed manpower. Canada needed workers. Canada needed to increase its population. That was one of the reasons the influx of people into Canada was so high on several occasions in the past.
Canada needed people to build the country, strengthen the economy and fill the jobs that were available.
The same thing happened during the pandemic, but in a very different way.
During COVID-19, the Canadian government came up with what, at that time, was considered a very significant gesture to support Canadians who were unable to work. The government was providing approximately $2,000 through pandemic-related benefits to workers who were off work because of the pandemic.
That money helped millions of Canadians survive a very difficult period.
But there was another side to the story.
As the economy started opening up again, many Canadians who had been receiving those benefits did not immediately return to work.
Some went back to their jobs, but many people and many businesses experienced a labour shortage.
I remember this personally.
At that time, I was hiring because our radio station was considered an essential service. I remember interviewing three people who were very capable of doing the jobs we had available.
They had the skills.
They had the ability.
They were capable of doing the work.
But they decided not to come back because they were still receiving government benefits.
They didn’t want those benefits to stop.
They were receiving approximately $2,000 from the government, and for them, at that particular time, the decision was to continue taking that support rather than immediately returning to work.
And I’m not saying that was the story of every Canadian.
But it was a story that happened.
And it wasn’t only an isolated story in the radio industry.
Many businesses across Canada were experiencing similar situations.
Employers were looking for workers, but they couldn’t find enough people willing to return to work.
At the same time, the Canadian government was looking at the enormous amount of money being spent on pandemic benefits. The government also wanted the economy to rebound quickly, businesses to reopen, investment to return and economic activity to increase.
Canada needed workers.
Canada needed manpower.
Canada needed people to fill the gaps.
And this is where the next major chapter began.
Canada started bringing workers from abroad at a much faster pace.
Temporary foreign workers became an important part of filling labour shortages.
International students became another major part of Canada’s economic equation.
Students came to Canada from around the world.
They paid tuition fees.
They paid rent.
They bought groceries.
They used transportation.
They spent money in local communities.
And their tuition payments became a significant source of revenue for Canadian colleges and universities.
Every international student was bringing substantial amounts of money into Canada, with tuition sometimes being many times higher than what domestic students paid.
That foreign-student contribution became an important part of the Canadian economy.
And the economy, which had gone into a very difficult period during COVID, started moving from negative territory toward recovery.
International students and temporary workers were part of that recovery.
At the same time, many Canadians who had stayed home during the pandemic eventually saw their benefits come to an end.
Then they went out looking for jobs — for themselves and for their loved ones.
But by that time, the situation had changed.
Many of the positions that had previously been available were now being filled by temporary workers and other newcomers.
And some Canadians were suddenly competing in a labour market that had changed significantly.
For some people, it became much harder to find employment.
And some are still struggling.
So the question we need to ask is:
Who is at fault?
Is it the immigrant?
Is it the international student?
Is it the temporary foreign worker?
Is it the Canadian who chose not to return to work?
Is it the employer?
Or is it the government?
I believe we have to have this debate honestly, respectfully and candidly.
Because if we are going to talk about today’s immigration problems, we cannot talk about only one side of the story.
We have to remember what happened during COVID.
We have to remember the labour shortages.
We have to remember that businesses needed workers.
We have to remember that the Canadian economy needed to recover.
And we also have to remember that governments made decisions to bring large numbers of people into the country.
But there was one major problem.
The infrastructure did not grow at the same speed as the population.
If Canada is going to increase its population by such a significant percentage, then all levels of government have a responsibility to prepare for that growth.
Where are those people going to live?
Who is going to provide healthcare?
Where are the doctors?
Where are the hospital beds?
Where are the schools?
Where is the public transportation?
Where is the affordable housing?
Where are the roads?
Where is the infrastructure required to support such rapid population growth?
Those questions should have been answered before, or at least alongside, such a significant increase in population.
Instead, we brought people into the country at a very fast pace, while the infrastructure required to support them did not keep up.
And this isn’t something completely new in Canadian history.
If we look back at history, whenever Canada experienced a major influx of population, there were challenges.
There were always problems involving land.
There were always concerns about housing.
There were always infrastructure challenges.
There were always people questioning whether Canada could absorb such a large number of newcomers.
But Canada eventually found ways to integrate those people.
Canada built communities.
Canada expanded infrastructure.
Canada created opportunities.
And those immigrants became part of Canada.
They became Canadians.
They built businesses.
They worked.
They paid taxes.
They raised families.
They contributed to this country.
That is Canada’s history.
But what is unfortunate today is that, instead of governments at all levels accepting responsibility for the planning failures, we are increasingly seeing the immigration community being blamed.
And not only governments.
Many Canadians are also blaming immigrants for problems that are, in many cases, the result of government policy and inadequate planning.
And that is very unfortunate.
Because the people who came here legally did not create Canada’s immigration policies.
They didn’t decide how many international students Canada would accept.
They didn’t decide how many temporary foreign workers would be brought into the country.
They didn’t decide how many permanent residents Canada would welcome.
Those were government decisions.
So if the government made the decision to increase the population, then the government also had a responsibility to make sure there was enough housing, healthcare, education, transportation and employment infrastructure to support that population.
You cannot bring people into a country and then, when the system becomes overwhelmed, turn around and say that those people are the problem.
That is not a fair way to have this conversation.
And at the same time, Canadians also have to look at their own role in this story.
We have to be honest about what happened during the pandemic.
If Canadians had not been sitting at home receiving pandemic benefits, if more people had immediately returned to work when businesses reopened, perhaps Canada would not have experienced the same level of labour shortage.
Perhaps businesses would not have needed to look abroad for workers at the same speed.
Perhaps the demand for temporary workers would have been different.
Perhaps the scale and speed of immigration would have been different.
We will never know exactly what would have happened.
But that is precisely why we need to have this conversation.
Not with anger.
Not with hatred.
Not by blaming immigrants.
But by looking at the entire picture.
Because immigration has been one of the greatest strengths of Canada.
Canada has been built by people who came from different parts of the world.
And Canada will continue to need newcomers.
But immigration has to be planned.
Population growth has to be matched with infrastructure.
The labour market has to be considered.
Housing has to be available.
Healthcare has to be ready.
Education has to be ready.
And governments have to take responsibility for the decisions they make.
So I’m ending this discussion with one thought:
If Canadians had not been sitting at home during the pandemic taking approximately $2,000 a month in government pandemic benefits, and if more Canadians had returned to work when businesses reopened, would Canada have needed to bring in as many people from abroad, at such a rapid pace, to fill its labour market?
That is a question worth debating.
And we should be able to debate it respectfully.
Because the purpose of this conversation is not to blame immigrants.
The purpose is to understand what happened.
And if we truly want to build a stronger Canada, we need to learn from what happened — rather than simply blaming the newest people who arrived here.
