Surrey LIP Blog: Immigrants and the Labour Force: Can This Marriage Be Saved?

Immigrants need work. Employers need workers. What could be more simple?

Yet, as we all know, it’s never that straightforward. That’s why Surrey LIP recently partnered with the Surrey Board of Trade to organize and host an Employment Summit. Our goal was to discuss strategies for recruiting, retaining, and empowering immigrant talent—and we certainly achieved that. But we also went beyond our expectations, as you’ll soon discover.

As it turns out quite a lot of people have something to say and insights to share on the topic of immigrant labour force Integration. We were very fortunate to host, and are now extremely grateful to our excellent speakers and panelists including:

Keynote speaker and Panelist: Ruth Mojeed Ramirez, Chief Equity Officer, The Inclusion Project
Speaker and Panelist: Nerissa Allen, President, Black Business Association of BC (BBAC)
Speaker and Panelist: Tom Conway, Chief Executive Officer, Small Business BC (SBBC)
Speaker and Panelist: Ui Heang Hur, Employer Support and Relations Specialist, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique (SDEBC)
Event Moderator: Patrick MacKenzie, Chief Executive Officer, Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IECBC)

In addition, participants received an excellent presentation from Statistics Canada, Vancouver Data
Centre on, 2021 Census results on immigrants & recent immigrants in City of Surrey. We welcome and encourage you to download the slides from this informative presentation.

First, Some Good News.
Early in the day, we examined the current state of the labour market, focusing on results from the 2021 census. While Surrey and its immigrant population have grown since then, and the employment situation has evolved, the findings were still illuminating!

According to the data, the employment situation for immigrants—especially recent
immigrants—improved significantly during the census period. In 2021, 74% of working-age recent
immigrants participated in the labour force, compared to 65% of both established immigrants and Canadian-born individuals.

Moreover, recent immigrants were no more likely to be unemployed than their counterparts, and their average incomes not only rose but doubled compared to 2016. Although recent immigrants still earned 11% less than established immigrants and 25% less than Canadian-born individuals, the gap had noticeably narrowed.

So, What Is There To Worry About?
Plenty, it turns out. Surrey LIP Manager, Tina Balachandran, emphasized the effort put into ensuring the summit was attended by a diverse group of people and organizations, ensuring that many voices were heard. In total, 57 individuals from various sectors, including academia, business, government, hospitality /retail service, non-profit, and settlement / immigration, were present. “This wasn’t a job fair,” she noted. “This was an opportunity to help employers and policymakers understand immigration” and the immense value newcomers bring to the labour market.

But it was more than that—it was a chance to diagnose and discern the issues at hand. Throughout the panels and presentations, it became clear that gaps in services and communication breakdowns are both jarring and widespread. As one small example, let’s consider a few words from Tom Conway during a panel entitled “Unlocking Opportunities Through Newcomer Talent.”

Conway, Chief Executive Officer of Small Business BC, a government-funded entity serving the province’s small business sector (which accounts for 53 percent of the province’s jobs), revealed that a significant proportion of visitors to his organization’s website are based outside the country. These individuals are interested in starting businesses in B.C. but are facing considerable challenges. “It’s not just the people who want to work here. It’s the people who want to create jobs for the people who want to work here who are running into problems with immigration,” he explained. Issues range from minor annoyances to significant obstacles, such as being unable to open a business account due to a specific immigration status.

Other panelists shared similar stories. In some cases, provincial and federal governments appear to be unaware of each other’s actions. Overall, as Balachandran summarized, there was a sense that authorities are more reactive than responsive.

Grounds for Optimism
Despite these challenges, there are reasons to be hopeful. Employers who embrace a diverse workforce are more likely to thrive. Data supports the notion that immigrants are fully capable of working in the fields for which they were trained.

Can this marriage be saved? Absolutely. It must be. And this summit helped illuminate some of the solutions needed to make it work.