Population growth is a crucial demand driver for the housing industry, which became an issue when the pandemic began.
CEO of the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders Association explains that tightening restrictions meant fewer people were allowed into the country, with the number of new Canadians dwindling from over 28,000 per month on average last year to just over 4,000 in April.
Chris Guerette says the relationship between the housing industry and new Canadians is symbiotic, because the industry needs workers to grow their business, and the immigrants need jobs.
Then a few years down the road, many of these new Canadians are investing in their own homes.
That’s why a housing blip is expected, but Guerette expects it will be a short-term disruption.
The federal government’s three-year goal between 2020 and 2022 is to welcome 1-million immigrants and although the number will be lower this year, the government has promised to bring in more people in the next two years. In 2019, Saskatoon welcomed the fourth highest number of migrants per capita in all of Canada.