What would likely happen to Canada's labour force if immigration did not occur?

• A. It would shrink
• B. It would stay the same
• C. It would grow
• D. It would fluctuate

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how immigration affects the size of the labour force. Immigration constantly adds people who are of working age to Canada, helping to offset numbers who retire or leave the workforce. Canada also has an aging population and relatively low birth rates, so births alone aren’t enough to keep the working-age population growing.

If immigration didn’t happen, there would be no steady inflow of new workers. Retirements would reduce the number of people in the labour force faster than new entrants from births could replace them, especially in the long run. So the working-age population would gradually shrink, leading to a smaller labour force overall.

That’s why the outcome would be a shrinking labour force, rather than it staying the same or growing. The idea is that removing a major source of new workers (immigration) combined with aging would reduce the number of people available for work over time.