Interesting. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem (which always sounds like a pseudonym to me), at a speech he gave yesterday at the Empire Club of Canada, has specifically identified Canada's reduced immigration quotas as a source of disruption to the economy over the next few years.
Macklem said that economic growth and the labour market in Canada is being held back by several factors including US tariffs, artificial intelligence and declining fertility, but also alowed immigration. He explains, "that means fewer new consumers and workers in the economy, which lowers out economic potential".
This is not the first time Macklem has referred to immigration as an economic boon. Back in October 2024, when Justin Trudeau was first starting to cut back immigration targets after sustained criticism from Conservatives, housing groups, etc, Macklem warned that immigration curbs would substantially impact the central bank's growth forecasts.
It's refreshing to see such an establishment figure telling it like it is on immigration, as Matk Carney follows in Trudeau's footsteps and continues to cut back on immigration targets (probably too much).
Another immigration issue hanging over Mr. Carney is the large number of undocumented immmigrants in Canada, estimated at anywhere from 200,000 and 2 million(!) He could follow the lead of Donald Trump in America and deport them by the hundreds of thousands. Or he could follow the lead of Spain, which has once again given permanent residence and eventual citizenship to half a million undocumented immigrants. Several other European countries have also gone this route, as has Canada at various times in the past.
So, treat them as a theat, or treat them as a potential aasset? Now would be a good time not to follow Trump.
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