High Immigration Impacting Economic Well-Being: National Bank Economists

Canadians are currently facing a challenge to their economic well-being due to high immigration, National Bank economists highlighted in a Jan. 15 report. The economists described the phenomenon as a “population trap.” This concept, as defined by Oxford Reference, is a situation where no increase in living standards is possible due to rapid population growth consuming all available savings, necessary to maintain the existing capital-labor ratio. While immigration is generally seen as beneficial for Canada’s potential GDP, concerns are rising about its limits. In a Dec. 19 note evaluating recent inflation figures, Derek Holt, the vice-president and head of Capital Markets Economics at Scotiabank, stated that the rapid pace of population growth in Canada is contributing to increased inflationary pressures....