Continuity and change in Canada's unemployment-immigration linkage (1946-1993)

"Between 1946 and 1976, variation in unemployment rates strongly affected the number of immigrants allowed into Canada. Implementation of the Immigration Act of 1976 should have weakened the effect of unemployment on immigration, for the Act requires that immigration levels be set after consideration of demographic as well as labour market conditions. Our analysis shows the unemployment-immigration linkage actually strengthened after 1978, and only weakened significantly after 1989. Since the government's annual immigration projections are excellent predictors of immigration landings, we conclude the Canadian state is highly capable of controlling immigration levels and thus the tightening of the unemployment-immigration linkage from 1978 to 1989 reflected the choice of regulators. Discussing future research in this area, we argue that if the immigration policymaking process was not restructured in the late 1980s, an adequate model of state-society relations in this area must account for both continuity and change. However, if the process was restructured, a revised or new theoretical framework is needed." (SUMMARY IN FRE)