Sask. NDP says government needs to do better keeping immigrants in province

According to the Saskatchewan NDP, new immigrants will move to the province but they don’t stay for long.

The official Opposition is pointing to Statistics Canada numbers that show Saskatchewan has the worst new immigrant retention rate since 2015 among the six provinces outside of Atlantic Canada.

Saskatchewan stands at just a little over 60 per cent.

NDP Leader Carla Beck said Saskatchewan has the potential to be the best place to live and work in Canada.

“Tight-knit communities, Crown corporations that can make life cheaper, living skies, natural beauty – we can and should be the No. 1 destination for people around the world looking to build that more affordable life with a good-paying job, good hospitals (and) good schools,” said Beck.

But she claimed the Saskatchewan Party government has failed to deliver on that potential.

“I cannot stress how big a problem this is,” said Beck.

The leader said the economy needs new workers, young people, skilled workers and education for young people.

“If you ask me, the Sask. Party is simply not giving people the opportunities that they need to set down roots, work and make Saskatchewan their permanent home,” said Aleana Young, the NDP’s jobs and economic critic.

Young said the province should work on things like improving English supports in schools, credentialing from other countries, access to housing and settlement supports, and expanding opportunities for capital and start-up incentives.

The NDP MLAs had a group of international students from the University of Regina with them to speak to their experiences and why they’re considering not staying in Saskatchewan.

Some talked about problems accessing health care, another about what they saw as a lack of family supports, and others about the lack of jobs in their chosen fields.

Saskatchewan Immigration Minister Jeremy Harrison, on the other hand, sees immigration as a good news story for Saskatchewan.

“I’m happy to talk about immigration all day because it really has been one of the driving forces for the economic growth in Saskatchewan,” said Harrison.

Harrison said previously that Saskatchewan is growing faster than it has in 100 years and, since 2007, 79 per cent of that has been due to net international immigration.

Harrison looks at the statistic that Saskatchewan’s retention rate for new immigrants is 64 per cent since 2015 as meaning the province is keeping most new immigrants it attracts.

The minister also took the opportunity to take some shots at the NDP’s record on immigration from when it was in power nearly two decades ago – calling it horrendous, abysmal and pathetic.

“The NDP actually lost population during their 16 years in government. Not only have we gained population, we are growing the province at a greater rate than it has ever grown in the history of this province before,” said Harrison.