The Indo-Pacific Region, immigration, international students and small mid-sized cities in the BC Interior - policy and capacity issues

The Indo-Pacific region figures prominently in Canada's immigration strategy, which has of late become a critical policy file to address a wide range of existing and potential financial, economic, and social, challenges, most notably retaining immigrants and international students to enhance future growth prospects in the face of an aging workforce. Despite a strong political consensus at all levels as to the need to annually increase immigration and international student levels overall, inadequate policies and financial commitments exist in many broader policy areas to address the implications of this aggressive "numbers game". This assessment provides an analysis of the elevated significance of economic immigration and international education and the conflicted motives within these two policy areas (despite both being viewed as serving larger immigration goals), resulting in serious capacity and equity issues that jeopardize the overall numerical successes - potentially undermining what is our most valuable long-term exchange with the Indo-Pacific Region.