All factors held constant these staggering statistics prove that smaller provinces especially Atlantic Region are struggling to attract new immigrants. Although most of the provinces experienced immigration increases from 2017 to 2018, the numbers of newcomers are still low given the effort put in to bring more people to these regions. It is the aim of provincial and federal officials to see an increase in 2019.
Quebec has however been experiencing a major decline in immigration for the last two years. Although the economy is booming with business, the French-speaking province still realized a drop in immigration from 53,254 in 2016 to 52,400 in 2017 and 51,115 in 2018. This has led to businesses becoming desperate to fill job vacancies. News of the Coalition Avenir Quebec provincial plans to reduce the number of immigrants in 2019 comes as no respite for business owners looking to fill their staff.
Job vacancies have increased in almost all the provinces in the last quarter of 2018 where Canada ended with 548,000 positions open. Recent statistics show that Ontario and Quebec are the most affected with both finishing with job vacancy increases of more than 25,000 each. This data shows that there has been a year in year out increase in job vacancies and the job vacancy rate in Canada.
