Immigration important to Town of Claresholm’s future

Immigration open house

By Rob Vogt Local Press Writer

The population in Canada, and Claresholm in particular, is aging and one solution to a shrinking workforce may be immigration.

The Town of Claresholm held an open house at the Claresholm Community Centre on Saturday, Nov. 9, to discuss immigration and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot the town is embarking on. The evening was hosted by Brady Schnell, the town’s economic development officer, who opened by discussing why immigration is important. He said only 14 per cent of immigrants are refugees, and none are part of this program. Moreover, the immigrant population is growing in the country.

However, urban centres benefit disproportionately from immigration. In fact, four out of five settle in the five largest centres. Nevertheless, immigration may help address another issue – the aging workforce. Schnell said currently there are four workers for every retiree. In 20 years that number will shrink to two workers for every retiree. Schnell said newcomers are more likely to spend their money locally as well.

A total of just 10 immigrant families will spend $140,000 on housing and related items; $110,000 on transportation; and $80,000 on food. Through the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot a profile of Claresholm is being created. In 2016, the last source of available data, one of three people in Claresholm was over the age of 55. The median age in Claresholm is 54, compared to 41 in Canada. A total of 830 residents had not lived in Claresholm five years before that, while eight per cent were born in another country.

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