FORM Policy Brief Series

What Germany Can Learn from Canada When It Comes to Integration

Germany faces three intertwined challenges: demographic change, a weakened domestic economy, and the rise of right-wing populist politics. This is particularly evident in eastern German regions, where the proportion of people with an immigrant background is lowest, yet opposition to immigration is strongest. The policy brief proposes linking immigration to tangible benefits for the local population. Following the model of Canada’s “Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot,” local communities should determine their own labor needs, immigrants should quickly find suitable jobs, and people who help newcomers settle in locally should receive an expense allowance. This strengthens purchasing power and domestic demand, promotes direct contact between long-time residents and immigrants, and offers a strong argument against the symbolic solutions proposed by authoritarian and right-wing forces.

Jansen, O. (2026). What Germany Can Learn from Canada Regarding Integration. FORM Policy Brief Vol. 2026 No. 2 https://doi.org/10.57938/559aa05f-ed7f-45af-8a36-ef7519303328

Who Is Building This Country? On the Tension Between the Need for Skilled Workers and Resistance to Immigration, as Seen in the Austrian Construction Industry

For decades, the Austrian construction industry has been supported primarily by migrant workers—about one-third of construction workers hold foreign citizenship, and an even higher proportion has a migrant background. At the same time, this same immigration is publicly framed primarily as a burden. This contradiction has real consequences: it jeopardizes affordable housing by creating a shortage of the “human” resource needed for the renovation boom, and it pushes a portion of the workforce on which the industry depends into precarious working conditions and subcontracting chains. If the country is to continue to be developed and built up, then migration policy and the construction industry must be considered together, rather than continuing to discuss them separately.

Kohlenberger, J., & Becker, S. C. (2026). Who Is Building This Country? On the Contradiction Between the Need for Skilled Workers and Resistance to Migration, Using the Austrian Construction Industry as an Example. FORM Policy Brief No. 01/2026 https://doi.org/10.57938/2111980c-1b5a-4309-a5b0-d7e9f31f6372