The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Jan. 16, edition that Canada is caught in a "population trap" and needs to rein in immigration significantly to escape it, say National Bank of Canada economists. The Globe's Matt Lundy writes that in a report, economists Stefane Marion and Alexandra Ducharme say "staggering" population growth is stretching the country's capacity to absorb new arrivals. The main example of this strain is in the housing market. The National Bank economists argue that annual population growth should not exceed between 300,000 and 500,000. That would be a significant reduction from current levels. Over the 12 months to Oct. 1, Canada's population rose by 1.25 million, or 3.2 per cent, the quickest pace of growth since the late 1950s. Almost the entirety of the population increase was driven by international migration, and most of that was from temporary residents, such as students and workers. The report says: "Canada is caught in a population trap that has historically been the preserve of emerging economies. We currently lack the infrastructure and capital stock in this country to adequately absorb current population growth and improve our standard of living."