New research by the Department of Immigration found Canada’s record-setting mass immigration accounts for 11% to 21% of inflation in housing prices.The report contradicted claims of racism by legislators who dismissed any connection between rising shelter costs and immigration levels, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“The potential impact of immigration on housing prices is a pressing concern in major immigration-receiving countries,” said the report, Immigration And Housing Prices Across Municipalities In Canada.“The complex interplay between immigration and housing prices is particularly noticeable in Canada.”The department reviewed 15 years of data from municipalities nationwide. The last 10 years the uptick in mass immigration has been the most significant, under the oversight of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former Immigration Minister Marc Miller and former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser. Fraser is now the justice minister and Attorney General of Canada. .“Municipalities experiencing larger increases in house values also saw a more rapid increase in new immigrant populations,” wrote researchers.It was not coincidental, said the report: “The ongoing debates on immigration’s role in housing price dynamics often lack definitive empirical evidence and establishing such evidence is a challenging task.”“Results indicate that over the study period, the rise in the influx of new immigrants who landed in Canada within five years was associated with 11% of the rise in both median house values for owner-occupied properties and median monthly rental rates across municipalities with populations over 1,000,” said the report.“This association tended to be more pronounced in larger municipalities.”“In 53 municipalities with a population exceeding 100,000 that together attracted over 80% of new immigrants, the rise in new immigrants accounted for 21% of the overall increase in median house values and 13% of the increase in median rents.”The study is the first of its kind by the immigration department..The Bank of Canada in a separate report last July 24 agreed immigration added “inflationary pressures” and typically drove up rents.“This is because most newcomers start out as renters,” said the bank’s Monetary Policy Report.“Strong population growth in recent years has boosted demand for housing,” wrote the bank.“This is adding to existing pressures on house prices and rents. The increase in housing demand from newcomers is being felt across all types of housing but the largest initial impact tends to be in rental markets.”The new data contradicted claims of racism by legislators who dismissed any connection between immigration and housing costs..“All of the sudden the government decides that because of the housing crisis the most convenient thing for them to do is blame the newcomers,” NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East) told reporters June 5.Kwan on December 5 told the Commons, “We’re playing into that kind of narrative, that kind of approach and that kind of racist attitude toward migrants, international students, immigrants, refugees and others.”“To me it’s wrong,” said Kwan.Sen. Amina Gerba (QC), a Liberal appointee, on June 5 complained that “some people have no hesitation in blaming immigrants for certain complex and difficult social situations.”Critics were wrong, she said. “Hard liners who embrace that rhetoric insinuate that immigrants are largely responsible for our country’s economic and social problems but they are wrong.”
