Growth of Employment

For a macro-economic (that is top down) perspective of the sources of growth in employment
read “The Sources of Economic Growth in OECD Countries”, © OECD, 2003.

Sharing the benefits of growth (and avoiding the consequences of economic depressions) are the
concerns of Donald J. Johnston, OECD Secretary-General and formerly a lawyer and politician
who spent 10 years in the Canadian Parliament and served as a Cabinet Minister in a number of
senior portfolios. Under his leadership since 1996 the OECD has argued that “Sharing the
benefits of growth is also crucial as shown in activities such as emerging economies, sustainable
development, territorial economy and aid.”

The macro-economic arguments have focussed on the competing roles of The accumulation of
physical capital, The accumulation of human capital, and Research and development (p59-64).

However the Census Metropolitan Area of Toronto has been subject to an additional cause of
growth: Immigration.

In the past five years StatsCan reports that the CMA of Toronto has grown by about 125,000
people each year, resulting in a population increase of in excess of one million people.

It may be argued that these immigrants are necessary to offset a rise in the dependency ratios of
the baby boomers as they age and retire. However it must be noted that in the case of the CMA
of Toronto the number of immigrants handsomely exceeds the forecast numbers of retirees.

Due to changes to CIC policies those immigrating have been increasingly educated (to degree
level and/or professionally), experienced and capable. The response of larger Canadian
employers and Professional Bodies has generally lagged the entrance of these new potential
employees. Groups such as the Builders Associations have argued that they need more trades
people, whose skills and experience are more hands on than cerebral. Separately there is a
general perception that large scale Canadian Employers and particularly the Professional Bodies
have difficulty recognizing or valuing qualifications or experience gained outside North America in
general, or Canada in particular.

Response of the Providers of Integration and Settlement Programs in the GTA

TRIEC

The primary goal of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council is to find and implement
local solutions that lead to more effective and efficient labour market integration of immigrants in
the Toronto Region. To achieve this goal, the Council is focussed on three key objectives:

1. Increase access and availability of value added services that support labour market
integration of skilled immigrants;
2. Change the way stakeholders value and work with skilled immigrants; and
3. Change the way governments relate to one another in planning and programming
around this issue.

However

“We have deliberately excluded self-employment and entrepreneurship from our work, not
because they are not relevant and useful strategies for the integration of immigrants, but more
because we are focusing on the issues of credential recognition and access of foreign-trained
professionals to suitable employment in Canada.”
Ratna Omidvar, Executive Director, The Maytree Foundation and Toronto Region Immigrant
Employment Council (TRIEC)

OCASI

The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) was formed in 1978 to act as a
collective voice for immigrant-serving agencies and to coordinate response to shared needs and
concerns. Its membership is comprised of more than 170 community-based organizations in the
province of Ontario, of which over 80 are located in the Census Metropolitan Area of Toronto.

The FINAL ACTIVITY REPORT of the 2003 Professional Development Conference, dated
February 2004, included the following recommendations:
7.4 Recommendations for workshops/themes for future training and related activities
• Self-employment: starting and running a business in Canada, resources and
support.
• Information about building employer/agency relationships. Ways of
creating productive relationships and employer networks. More business people
(employers) should be invited to facilitate some of the workshops. Information re:
employers’ needs in current job market.

Ontario Self-Employment Delivery Alliance (OSEDA)

Dixon Hall Neighbourhood House

JobStart
Life Spin
NPH Community Resources
PARO: A Northwestern Ontario Women’s Community Loan Fund
Unemployed Help Centre of Windsor
Women’s Centre of York Region

This alliance seeks to assist the self employed, with no recognition of th special needs of
immigrants.
Analysis

Employment by age, sex, type of work, class of worker and provinces (monthly)
(Ontario)
August August July 2005 to August 2004 to
July 2005
2004 2005 August 2005 August 2005
seasonally adjusted
employment in thousands % change
Ontario - All
6,318.8 6,397.5 6,407.1 0.2 1.4
ages
15 to 24 years 941.3 928.9 942.6 1.5 0.1
25 years and
5,377.5 5,468.5 5,464.5 -0.1 1.6
over

Men 3,358.5 3,390.6 3,398.6 0.2 1.2

Women 2,960.3 3,006.9 3,008.5 0.1 1.6

Full-time 5,165.7 5,261.9 5,282.4 0.4 2.3

Part-time 1,153.1 1,135.6 1,124.6 -1.0 -2.5
Employees 5,390.6 5,504.6 5,496.4 -0.1 2.0
1
Public sector 1,103.2 1,127.6 1,137.1 0.8 3.1
2
Private sector 4,287.4 4,377.0 4,359.3 -0.4 1.7
Self-employed 928.3 892.9 910.7 2.0 -1.9
1. Those who work for a local, provincial or federal government, for a government service
or agency, a crown corporation, or a government funded establishment such as a school
(including universities) or hospital.
2. Those who work as employees of a private firm or business.
Sources: Statistics Canada, tables 282-0087 and 282-0089.
Last modified: 2005-09-08.
Thus in Ontario during August 2005 there were 6,407,100 in employment, of whom
4,359,300 were employees of a private firm or business, 1,137.1 worked for a local,
provincial or federal government, for a government service or agency, a crown
corporation, or a government funded establishment such as a school (including
universities) or hospital and 910,700 were self employed.
 Immigrant population by place of birth, by provinces and territories (2001 Census)
(Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan)
Canada Que. Ont. Man. Sask.
number
Total - Place of birth 5,448,480 706,965 3,030,075 133,660 47,825
United States 237,920 25,255 98,195 6,905 5,865
Central and South America 304,650 53,750 184,075 13,145 2,140
Caribbean and Bermuda 294,050 69,895 199,800 4,580 685
Europe 2,287,555 284,745 1,336,015 63,430 24,715
United Kingdom 606,000 17,590 342,895 15,305 8,450
Other Northern and Western Europe 494,825 83,625 220,325 15,340 6,585
Eastern Europe 471,365 54,545 289,305 19,135 6,505
Southern Europe 715,370 128,985 483,485 13,650 3,175
Africa 282,600 81,265 137,755 4,365 2,310
Asia 1,989,180 190,420 1,061,935 40,550 11,660
West Central Asia and the Middle East 285,585 67,030 163,965 1,870 1,220
Eastern Asia 730,600 36,555 348,555 6,220 4,150
South East Asia 469,105 50,965 226,275 26,025 4,595
Southern Asia 503,895 35,870 323,145 6,440 1,700
Oceania and other countries 52,525 1,640 12,300 685 445
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population.
Last modified: 2005-01-26.

For more statistical information, consult 2001 Census.

Thus there were 3,030,075 immigrants living in Ontario in 2001.

 Components of population growth, by province and territory
(Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan)
July 1,2003-June 30,2004
Canada Que. Ont. Man. Sask.
number
Births 330,803 74,491 128,455 13,936 11,754
Deaths 233,087 56,434 87,296 10,247 9,190
Immigration 239,116 44,632 128,055 7,412 1,891
Emigration 39,227 6,312 16,241 1,252 640
Net temporary emigration 25,565 4,074 10,626 562 515
Returning emigrants 18,084 2,884 7,892 852 248
Net non-permanent residents -4,274 -3,286 -5,370 672 316
Net interprovincial migration ... -1,474 -8,793 -2,095 -2,901
... : not applicable.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table (for fee) 051-0004.
Last modified: 2005-08-30.

Find information related to this table (CANSIM table(s); Definitions, data sources and
methods; The Daily; publications; and related Canadian Statistics tables).

Thus in the twelve months ending June 30 2004 128,055 immigrants landed in Ontario.
This number of immigrants was repeated from 1995 to 2005, indicating that about
1,250,000 immigrants landed during that ten year period.
Research conducted by CERIS-Toronto in 2001 (1)

1
Immigrants' Economic Status in Toronto: Rethinking Settlement and Integration Strategies
© Lucia Lo, Valerie Preston, Shuguang Wang, Katherine Reil, Edward Harvey & Bobby Siu