Canada's Housing Bubble

April 14, 2010 The Canadian Press

Toronto - Canada will have to increase the number of immigrants allowed into the country by about 100,000 a year and boost productivity to help pay for pensions, the Conference Board of Canada's chief economist said yesterday.

Glen Hodgson predicted slow labour force growth in the coming decades, meaning there will be fewer workers contributing to pension plans, but more retirees drawing from them, he told an audience at the board's 2010 Summit on the Future of Pensions. "We'll have fewer workers coming in to feed the system ... that's going to suck the life out of our economy," he said.

Currently 250,000 immigrants are allowed to enter Canada every year.