One of the biggest factors when comparing Canada’s lagging wage growth to the United States is a difference in immigration levels between the two countries, according to Bay Street economist Benjamin Tal.
“To put things in perspective, [Canada] got 410,000 new immigrants in 2021. In the U.S., altogether, they got 500,000,” said Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets, in an interview Friday.
“The last time I checked, the U.S. is ten times larger than we are. But the [level of immigration] is basically the same.”
