Sask. sees drop in percentage of immigrants who choose to stay long-term

Immigration is a big driver of Saskatchewan's population growth, but many newcomers to the province are not choosing to stay here, a report from Statistics Canada shows.

Last year, when Saskatchewan released its population numbers, the province said it had seen its largest population growth in a single year in more than a century – and 93.5 per cent of that increase was attributed to international migration.

The latest Statistics Canada report looks at how provinces fare in retaining their immigrant populations. It shows Saskatchewan's five-year retention rate saw the largest drop for any province when comparing the 2012 admission cohort to the 2016 cohort.

According to the report, 42.1 per cent of the people who came to Saskatchewan in 2016 ended up leaving the province in the next five years. That number was 27.8 per cent, for people who came to the province in 2012.

Omer Khayyam, an immigration lawyer in Saskatoon, said the initial population boost for Saskatchewan could be attributed to easier permanent residency pathways. (Osman Akthar)

Omer Khayyam, an immigration lawyer in Saskatoon, said the initial population boost could be attributed to easier permanent residency pathways. For instance, Saskatchewan's permanent residency program awards extra points to people if they have family ties in the province before moving.

"Generally, it's considered the best program in terms of leniency and assessment. Some people do consider it as a bit of a last resort," he said.

Khayyam said he's seen people leave for various reasons, but some reasons show up more frequently than others.

"Sometimes people will find a strong church group or there's a local temple, and that's a big reason for them to stay here. That's definitely going to be a bigger reason in bigger cities," he said.

"They have Chinatowns and different types of neighbourhoods like Greek towns in some of the bigger cities. We don't have the equivalent of that in Saskatchewan, so a sense of community for immigrants is also a big factor."

One of the ways immigrants can apply for permanent residency is through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nomination Program (SINP). That pathway enables immigrants to become permanent residents, but doesn't have a stipulated time that qualified individuals have to stay, after they arrive in the province.

Aakash Shah came to Regina from India in August 2022. His work experience as a sales representative, he said, helped him qualify for SINP because it was a job that Saskatchewan deemed in-demand. He said he also got additional points for having family ties in the province.

Shah moved to Calgary after spending a little more than a year in Saskatchewan.

He said one of the reasons he moved was because of a lack of having a social life. The other reason, he said, was his personal growth.

"Particularly, my occupation was in demand for a long time, but still the opportunities that I get here in Alberta or any other province on the East Coast as well, are much more in numbers than what we got in Saskatchewan," he said.

Maliha Jabeen Khan (from left), a student at the University of Regina, immigrated to Saskatchewan from India in 2021 with her mother, brother, and father. She said the job market in Saskatchewan doesn't value the credentials or experience of newcomers. (Submitted by Maliha Jabeen Khan)

Maliha Jabeen Khan, a student at the University of Regina, came to Saskatchewan from India with her parents and her brother in 2021.

When Khan came to Saskatchewan, she said, she and her family had to work minimum wage jobs. She said the job market in Saskatchewan doesn't value the credentials or experience of newcomers.

"In the beginning, it was really sad for me to see that my parents had to work such odd jobs, something we had never done in our country back home," she said.

Khan said her mother was a high school teacher in India and her father was a marketing manager at a pharmaceutical company. She said her mother has found a teaching job since, but her father still hasn't found a job that fits what he did in India.

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Khan also said that when she started working while wearing a hijab, she was threatened at her workplace.

"I think it was just a few instances where I would have customers giving me side eyes and maybe screaming at me sometimes," she said.

However, Khan said that after a rough start to her Canadian journey, she has settled in now. She said she has found her circle after actively participating in university activities and clubs, and wouldn't want to leave Saskatchewan unless it's for her career prospects.

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Last year, the Ontario government became the first province in Canada to pass legislation that makes it illegal for businesses to list "Canadian experience" as a requirement in job listings. Ontario said it was to remove barriers to entry in the job market.

Ali Abukar, CEO of Saskatoon's Open Door Society, said the society has been advocating for newcomers to be given a chance at jobs they aren't usually considered for.

"There are ways that you can incorporate people, if we're not necessarily only just saying, 'If you don't have a degree or don't have Canadian training, then you can't work in this profession that you've been working in for 10 to 15 years.' "

Ali Abukar, CEO of Saskatoon’s Open Door Society, said they've been advocating for a long time for newcomers to be given a chance at jobs they aren't usually considered for. (Morgan Modjeski/CBC)

Regina's unemployment-to-vacancy ratio sits nearly three times above the national average, according to the Economic Development Regina state of labour report issued last year. It said Regina has four people available for every job vacancy on the market.

Abukar said training newcomers for the Canadian market by giving them supports could help both immigrants and the economy.

"If we want newcomers only to do those jobs that nobody else wants to do, like serving us coffee in coffee shops and doing the lower level jobs, then that is also not going to retain people here because there are a lot of people who have higher skills," he said.

When asked about the decreasing retention rate in Saskatchewan, the province said that it's exploring programs that can help newcomers settle into their jobs.

"The province has also streamlined the credential recognition process to make it easier for newcomers to work in their field of expertise," the province said in an emailed response.

The government said it's pushing for more provincial autonomy over immigration to help it provide better access to settlement services for newcomers.