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Canada posted a record population growth of more than one million in just a year.

Government data showed immigration fueled the surge, with more than 437,000 new immigrants and 607,000 non-permanent residents arriving as of January 2023.

"We are, though, an aging population," said John Aldag, a member of the Canadian parliament for Cloverdale-Langley. "We need to renew our workforce and immigrants are really the best way for us to do that because we have low birth rates in Canada."

Aldag added that the government is working to ensure there is enough infrastructure to support the arrivals.

"By next year, we're going to exceed over 40 million people in Canada," he said. "We need to make sure that we have housing, hospitals, all of those things that are important."

In British Columbia, Langley posted the highest population growth among the cities in Metro Vancouver.

But the unprecedented growth has also resulted in many immigrant needs not being met, such as affordable housing.

"It was difficult for us because we didn’t have a home to live in, so we used to live in a hotel," said Dia Katija, a new immigrant.

Mary Tecson, employment programs manager for the Langley community services society, said newcomers also have difficulty accessing basic needs such as healthcare and language training programs.

"We also refer them out to kasi pag newcomer ka, parang you are lost kung anu-ano ang services," she said. "It’s really hard to find doctors nowadays. What we do is bring the services actually here."

Finding connection and the sense of belonging are also issues that newcomers face.

The siblings James and Justin arrived in the country in September 2022 and have since found jobs at a mall in Langley.

But they shared that they are still unable to make new friends, and find it difficult to adjust to their new life.

"Naninibago kami kasi halos kami-kami na lang yung magkakasama," said John. "Wala akong nakikitang kaibigan na Pinoy."

Tecson said the provincial government plans to unveil new measures to address the issues as early as October.