All told, the above-outlined reasons for immigration growth have created a country where immigrants make up 23% of Canada’s total population (as of 2021). What’s more is that this number is projected to fall somewhere between 29.1% and 34% by 2041 if current national demographic trends, including low fertility rates, continue throughout this country.
Source: Why birth rates are low in Canada and much of the Western world | Canada Immigration News
This news story is mostly stuck on stupid, asking why are young people not having kids, blaming economics and Covid.
But this is a very longterm trend. Here’s the longterm US demographic curve.
The reason families are no longer having half a dozen kids is because child mortality is now basically zero, and the need for kids to keep family farms running with free labor is no longer necessary. Most people now live in urban jungles where having a kid is a cost, not a benefit. It means higher costs for housing, and if more than 2 kids, typically means owning a mini-van or large SUV. Health care, food and clothing all add up.
Government programs to create family incentives – typically subsidized childcare, education and health care benefits – have failed everywhere in the world, where they have been tried.
Immigration is a temporary labor solution that will work for some countries but not most – because the fertility rate decline is global (now 2.3 and falling). Yet governments keep pushing the immigration button even though it is not a long-term solution.
Ultimately, we will need to adopt improvements in business processes to make them more efficient, and to expand the use of automation. We’ve barely touched what automation is capable of now, and will be capable of in the future.
