Immigration

In just over a hundred years, Alberta’s population has grown from a few hundred thousand farmers, ranchers and First Nations peoples to a province of over 5 million, with one of the most prosperous economies in the world.

This great success story would not have been possible without new Albertans moving here from all over the world. That is why Alberta has always welcomed newcomers looking to contribute to our province’s economic success and unique culture…and we always will. However, as all Canadians intuitively understand, the number of newcomers entering the country each year needs to be sustainable and everyone wanting to come should be committed to upholding the Canadian values of hard work, love of freedom and peaceful co-existence.

Sadly, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals upended Canada’s immigration system for over a decade by instituting an open borders policy that permitted over a million people in each of the last two years to enter Canada, often without any sort of proper vetting, job prospects or needed employment skills.

The results have been disastrous. Housing prices have skyrocketed. Unemployment keeps increasing as immigration outpaces job growth. And sadly, many of the divisions and disputes that plague other countries have begun making their way into ours.

Further, Ottawa has ignored the request of Alberta and other provinces to cut refugee claimants and student visas, while instead focusing on a much smaller and targeted number of economic migrants able to contribute to Canada’s economy.

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So what can Alberta do about the situation?

Quite a bit actually.

You see under the Constitution immigration is a shared area of responsibility between the federal and provincial governments – which makes sense.

Essentially, the federal government gets to decide who they let into Canada, but it’s up to the provinces to provide the vast majority of the social programs that newcomers need – so obviously, we should have a say about who is coming here.

If Alberta isn’t satisfied with the number or kind of newcomers moving to our province, we may have the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status.

This would likely encourage more sustainable immigration overall while supporting the entry of newcomers who can contribute to our provincial economy.

If Alberta went this direction, Ottawa could decide to fight Alberta on this issue in the courts, and there would be some additional costs in taking a more hands-on approach to immigration; however, much, if not all of that cost, could be offset in corresponding savings to our social programs.

So, what are the benefits of Alberta choosing to withdraw from the CPP to create its own pension plan?

A big upfront payout

Alberta would get back a significant lump sum by exiting the CPP. The Chief Actuary in Ottawa has indicated our share would be at least $140 billion. That’s plenty to start and build a strong Alberta Pension Plan from day one.

Better Benefits for Seniors

Lower premiums for Alberta Workers

Thanks to our younger, more productive population, an Alberta Pension Plan could result in Alberta workers paying lower pension premiums on their paycheques or seniors enjoying higher pension benefits – or a mix of both.

Local control & boosting our economy

An Alberta Pension Plan would be managed right here at home, creating more jobs and growing Alberta’s financial sector. We would also be insulated from the economic and demographic decline in Canada. Our investment decisions could also be steered clear of ideological decision making, and instead remain focused on the long-term rate of return for Alberta pensioners.

But there are some risks to consider:

Uncertain payout

The CPP exit rules aren’t clear in the federal legislation, and Ottawa is notoriously anti-Alberta with its decisions, so the size of the lump sum Alberta is offered could be lower than it should be. This could result in a lengthy court battle with the federal government, and it could lower our ability to increase benefit payments for seniors or lower premiums for workers.

Long-term risk

As with any pension plan, if the plan is mismanaged or Alberta’s economy and demographics fall behind Canada, premiums would have to rise in the future in order to guarantee our seniors the same benefits they enjoy today under the CPP. Regardless, as with Quebec, Alberta’s government would still be able to guarantee that an Alberta Pension Plan provide the same or better benefits to Alberta seniors as they now enjoy under the CPP.

Portability concerns

The Quebec Pension Plan and CPP have an agreement in place to ensure pensioners get the same single pension regardless of where they worked or lived in Canada during their career. Alberta would expect a similar arrangement with Ottawa, but it is not guaranteed.

FAQ

What are current immigration levels to Canada?

As this chart shows, after many years of having a net migration into Canada of roughly 300,000 per year, in the last few yearsthe total skyrocketed to four times that level.

Source: Stats Canada Table:17-10-0008-01

Don’t we need Immigrants?

Yes Alberta’s growing economy has always benefited from people with skills and a desire to get ahead coming here to work. Whether they come from elsewhere in Canada or internationally, new Albertans have had a welcome here as warm as anywhere in the world.

But growth brings pressures as well as opportunity. When the federal government triples or quadruples the number of temporary immigrants it is too much to absorb. In terms of housing alone we are inviting a crisis – new starts on housing fell last year to 245,000, despite 1.2 million new residents arriving the year before. That drives up prices and limits availability.

It also increases unemployment rates when the government brings in people faster than we can create jobs. This affects young Canadians in particular – youth unemployment numbers are double the overall unemployment rate in Alberta.

Canada needs to get back to the points-based system and bring the skilled immigrants we need. The question is, while we wait for change in Ottawa, should Alberta take measures to prioritize the workers our economy needs? If so, what?

What programs would unapproved immigrants become ineligible for?

Alberta already limits some benefit programs only to citizens and permanent residents. Disability benefits like FCSD, PDD, and AISH are examples.

Temporary residents are also already ineligible for most housing supports.

Health care insurance and income supports would be the most prominent examples that would be restricted to citizens, permanent residents, and those with permits approved by the Government of Alberta.

Hasn’t the federal government announced it will reduce the number of immigrants?

Yes, last fall they announced they were lowering their target for new permanent residents from 500,000 to 395,000 this year and slight decreases after that. That number of permanent residents is still 50% higher than the average from 2008-2015.

That does not count temporary residents like those with student visas and Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW). Ottawa announced measures to reduce the numbers there too, but given 700,000 temporary residents were approved in each of the last two years (more than 10 times what we saw before 2016), there is a long way to go.

Ideas to assert Alberta’s sovereignty within a United Canada

Alberta Immigration