Cutting immigration nominees
P.E.I. returns to 2022 levels as it releases its population growth framework
The P.E.I. government will be reducing the number of immigrants it nominates for permanent residency by 25 per cent this year, bringing the number down to the level the province nominated in 2022.
The move was announced by Premier Dennis King during a press conference in Charlottetown on Feb. 22, as the province released a plan aimed at ensuring government services keep up with population growth.
Immigration is a jurisdiction of the federal government, which means P.E.I. cannot reduce or increase immigration levels on its own.
However, P.E.I. does have control over nominations it makes to the federal government for permanent residency for two immigration programs – the Provincial Nominee Program and the Atlantic Immigration Program.
King said it is these programs that will see a reduction “immediately” in 2024.
This will mean P.E.I. will nominate 1,510 immigrants for permanent residency in 2024, according to a government forecast provided to SaltWire. This is 25 per cent less than the 2,120 nominated by the province in 2023 but is roughly the same number nominated in 2022.
King said the province has seen a growth of its population beyond what government decisionmakers had previously predicted. He also said the province’s housing infrastructure and its public services, like health care, have not kept pace with population growth.
“It's not an easy challenge. It's a balancing act,” King said.
P.E.I.’s population passed 175,000 last October – up from just under 158,000 people in October of 2019. The rate of population growth passed four per cent as the province welcomed close to 7,000 new residents last year.
King said “most people” believe this population increase is not currently sustainable. He said immigration needed to better target needed workers in health care, trades and child care sectors.
“We are not stopping immigration. We are refocusing our efforts and prioritizing who can help us with the challenges we are facing within our province,” King said.
"In doing so, we will prioritizing workers in health care – to come work in our health-care system. We will be prioritizing trade workers who can help build and expand our housing supply."
The reductions in nominees will largely focus on immigrants nominated for work in the sales and services sector.
King said the province’s agriculture, fisheries and bioscience sectors will not see reductions in their immigration nominees from the province.
GROWTH FRAMEWORK TOUTS GROWTH BENEFITS
On Feb. 22, the province also released its population framework, a plan that had been in the works since spring 2023.
Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population Minister Jenn Redmond had initially said the plan was to be completed last spring.
On Feb. 22, Redmond said the framework would help the province adopt a “whole of government” response to population growth.
“We need to find a careful balance of welcoming more people to our province while we also grow the infrastructure needed for our current and newest residents. That's why we have this framework," Redmond said.
The report emphasized the need for population growth due to P.E.I.’s aging workforce and its declining birth rates. As one example, the report noted that for every 10 people who retire in P.E.I., eight people join the workforce.
P.E.I.’s population is expected to hit 200,000 people by 2030. This target could be reached by 2028, government officials said.
But the framework itself, included few concrete targets for matching government spending and infrastructure.
The framework noted the province will need to build an average of 2,000 more homes per year between now and 2030.
When asked why the framework did not include projections or targets for increasing spending in departments like health care, housing or education, Redmond said these decisions would not be made by her department.
“The population framework is designed to help support those decisions going forward in the future. It is about a collaborative, co-operative approach, as opposed to us in the past making some decisions impacting other departments," Redmond said.
"The departments will continue to lead the specific areas of interest. But the framework is a metric of measurables and data,” King said.
“It's the ability, probably, for the system to talk to itself a little bit easier.”
The plan included a government commitment to publicly release details of “progress related to this framework including key metrics and government action items.”
It also noted that the province has contracted the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, an Ontario-based firm, to produce a simulation platform to model government decisions based on population trends.