Written submission for the pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2024 federal budget
Canada’s future prosperity, quality of life, and security depend on population growth. As such, the federal government should plan and invest for a growing population with a focus on growing well – ensuring that the benefits of population growth are broadly shared by all Canadians.
To this end, Century Initiative's submission for the 2024 pre-budget consultation process is focused on ensuring that the federal government take action to enable Canada's long-term economic and social prosperity by responsibly growing the population. Century Initiative recommends that the federal government adopt the following evidence-based policy measures, aligned with the findings of our 3rd annual National Scorecard on Canada’s Growth and Prosperity:
Recommendation #1: Work with provincial, territorial and municipal governments to ensure more public and private investment in housing and other physical infrastructure needed to support a growing population.
Recommendation #2: Invest in social infrastructure – particularly child care – that will support families and support a growing population.
Recommendation #3: Meet existing immigration targets as committed in the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan, which would mean maintaining admissions within a target range of 1.15 per cent to 1.25 per cent of the population annually.
Recommendation #4: Improve settlement services for temporary residents, increase opportunities for temporary residents to transition to permanent residence, and improve the process of planning for temporary resident admissions.
