Out country has had an interesting history of immigration stretching back hundreds of years. Throughout the late 19th century, immigration was modest compared to modern levels.
Annual immigration averaged roughly 25-50,000, topping 130,000 in the early 1880s but then falling to 80,000 in the 1890s and dropping precipitously in the late 1890s and early 1900s. A huge surge then occurred from 1902 to right before the start of the first World War. With the prairie provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan admitted to Confederation, elites recognized the urgent need and positive opportunity of settling the Western prairies and activating the agricultural potential of the region. Sizable grants of effectively free prairie land were advertised to European migrants, particularly those from Ukraine, Germany, and Poland, on the condition of long term settlement and productivity inducement. 400,000 people entered the country in 1912, an all time single year record.
In the 1920s and through the Second World War immigration began to fall until it recovered in the post-war boom. Over the last 20 years immigration levels have been high and steadily increasing, with both main political parties supportive of the trend. Average increases varied from 200-250,000, but the current Liberal Government has shown a zeal to increase this number further to 350,000+. Statscan has released data that shows recent increases in population have hit all time historic highs that have topped the traditional pre-WW1 figure of 400,000. From August 2018 to July 2019 the population of our country increased by 531,000. 60% of those immigrants settled in Ontario and British Columbia. These kinds of increases show that our immigration system is moving aggressively to address the most serious demographic issue we have; an aging population. Hopefully many of the new entrants are family sponsorship individuals who have likely been waiting for years to join with family members who are already here.
One can imagine the impact of this population increase on a housing market that is already squeezed from demand pressures. Even if immigration levels fall from this record high, they will still be significant in the years to come. The consensus on high immigration levels is shared by most of the political class, big business, and a significant chunk of the population. This won’t change anytime soon. Record high immigration are the new norm and this will continue to fuel rapid growth and housing prices.