Ottawa must join the provinces in developing provincially based immigration policies to avoid a looming shortage of skilled labourers in Western Canada – but most westerners favour a homegrown solution, say two recently released Canada West Foundation studies.

“Guaranteeing an adequate supply of skilled labour is a long-term issue requiring long-term solutions,” says the Calgary-based foundation.

“Putting in place the infrastructure right now to alleviate this problem will go a long way toward guaranteeing that Western Canada does not suffer from a dearth of skilled labour. Education programs and incentives for youth to stay in the province are solutions that require immediate investment if they are to have an effect on the future.”

Edna Sutherland, executive director of the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA), agreed that the federal government needs to look at targeted immigration that can help fill specific labour gaps.

Edna Sutherland

Companies need to look ahead and see where they will need people 10 years from now, she said.

Sutherland called on employers to respect the findings of the Calgary-based International Qualifications Assessment Association, which compares an immigrant’s education level to Canadian standards.

Some immigrants have paid for assessments and achieved positive reviews only to hear employers say that they’re not qualified, said Sutherland.

“The gap is narrowing in that area – but not as much as it should – and it’s particularly bad for immigrant women,” said Sutherland.

Immigrants also need to know in what areas they might need to upgrade their education or skills before moving here, she said.

In the last five years, said Sutherland, CIWA’s budget has grown to $2 million from $705,000. The number of programs has increased to 31 from nine.

While immigration is certainly not a cure-all to the skills shortage, it is one of the policy levers that should be considered, says the report on the immigration study.

However, in a separate survey, only 10 per cent of respondents felt that attracting more immigrants was a high policy priority, while one-third (34.8 per cent) felt it was a medium priority. The majority felt it was either a low priority (41.2 per cent) or not a priority (12.7 per cent).

This “disconnection in the public’s mind,” says the foundation, suggests that the public favours dealing with labour shortages internally, “rather than looking outside our borders for the labour to fill these gaps.”

Almost nine in 10 westerners surveyed say that their community is either very welcoming (41.5 per cent) or somewhat welcoming (46.5 per cent) to immigrants.

Less than one in 10 states that their community is not very welcoming (6.8 per cent) or not at all welcoming (1.6 per cent).

Sutherland said it was easier for her when she emigrated to Canada 30 years ago from Scotland with her husband, an engineer whose skills were in demand. Today’s immigrants, she said, must work harder and build their opportunities.

“People are welcoming of some types of immigrants, but they’re not as welcoming of other types of immigrants,” said Sutherland.

Blacks from Africa say they often face more obstacles than immigrants from other nations.

University-educated immigrants don’t have much difficulty finding employment, but their skills are not necessarily the ones in demand.

“We’re growing in our diversity in Calgary and people need to catch up to that,” said Sutherland.

Between January and February, Canada West Foundation researchers asked 800 residents in each of the four western provinces – for a total of 3,200 – to rate 13 issues as high, medium, low or no priority.

According to survey results, 70 per cent of Western Canadians said ensuring an adequate supply of skilled labour ranked second – behind improvements to the health-care system – in a list of high-priority policy areas.

Outside Vancouver, says the foundation, the West does not draw its proportionate share of immigrants and therefore loses ground to Ontario and Quebec in the economic value that immigrants bring.

In the last 25 years, the prairie provinces’ share of immigrants has been cut in half – to under 10 per cent over the last decade from 21 per cent in the early 1980s.

These declining immigration levels represent a potentially serious and uniquely western concern, the study authors contend.

Immigration’s importance to the future of the region is tied to a number of demographic trends and economic realities facing the West, including labour shortages; the need to grow the regional economy; future population needs; and the value of cultural diversity in communities and workplaces.

If immigration is increased, says the study, immigrants can help fill labour force shortages, help support public services and create jobs for Canadians.

Pro-immigration groups believe there is a seamless connection between labour shortages and increased employment of immigrants – the majority of whom arrive in Canada at a working age and have a higher level of education when compared to native-born Canadians.

On the other hand, survey respondents showed more support for education and training, which have also been viewed as potential solutions to skills shortages.

The foundation also says that greater provincial input into the immigration process can result in a greater dispersion of immigrants to smaller communities from large cities.

“Encouraging immigrants to consider these smaller centres is beneficial – empirical evidence has shown that immigrants are more likely to thrive in small- to medium-sized cities, as opposed to larger urban centres.”