07:35 AM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- While Bank of Montreal (BMO) awaits some more details and, more importantly, the implementation of recently announced changes to Canadian immigration policy, the bank looks at the issue from another perspective -- that of the new Canadian.

The bank said it has documented at length the impact that "massive" non-permanent resident (NPR) inflows have had on housing costs, service demand, infrastructure stress and the job market.

However, even from the other perspective, those new to Canada are finding tough conditions, stated BMO. Consider that the unemployment rate of those who landed for five years or less is now nearing 13%, or almost seven ppts higher than for the Canadian-born workforce.

That's the widest spread in over a decade, pointed out the bank.

Absorption into the job market takes time -- immigrants that landed more than 10 years ago have no discernable difference in unemployment versus those born in Canada.

The reality right now is that the current rate of inflow is not getting readily absorbed, which is doing no favour to the domestic job market (see youth unemployment), and no favor to those coming to Canada.