Canada plans to “significantly reduce” the number of immigrants it allows into the country over the next two years, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reverses course amid falling public support for immigration.
Canada previously set a target of 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025. Under the new immigration plan, Canada will decrease that target by 21 percent, to 395,000. After 2025, the limit will shrink by roughly 4 percent each year as the government looks to set a target of 365,000 new permanent residents by 2027.
And for the first time ever, Canada will set a target for temporary immigrants. The new limitations, which will impact international students and foreign workers, will see admittance of non-permanent residents drop by roughly 445,000 in 2025 and 2026. By comparison, the country allowed in 800,000 temporary immigrants in 2023.
“This is temporary — to pause our population growth and let our economy catch up,” Trudeau said Thursday. “We have to get the system working right for all Canadians.”
The prime minister said during a news conference that the new plan is being put into place because the country “didn’t get the balance quite right” as it responded to the “tumultuous times” that followed the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new policy marks an about-face from Trudeau’s previous support for immigration that had allowed for a record increase of immigration to the country since he took office in 2015. Trudeau’s government raised annual permanent resident targets from 272,000 when he took office to 485,000 this year.
Immigration has driven 97 percent of the country’s population growth as it contends with worsened housing shortages, inflated rent prices, strained public services and rising unemployment. The country’s unemployment rate is particularly high among young people — 14 percent compared to 6.5 percent unemployment overall.
Fifty-eight percent of Canadians now feel that immigration levels are too high, according to a poll by the Environics Institute, which found public opinion on immigration levels has “effectively flipped from being acceptable (if not valuable) to problematic”.
Nonetheless, Trudeau’s sudden flip on the issue comes after years of him touting the importance of immigration.
“Last year, Canada welcomed more than 405,000 newcomers – the most we’ve ever welcomed in one year. We’re building on that and setting higher targets in the years ahead, because immigration is critical to growing our economy and helping businesses find the workers they need,” Trudeau said in November 2022.
Earlier that year, he urged Canadians to “continue to build a country that’s welcoming and inclusive – no matter who you are or where you’re from.”
And in 2019, he suggested immigration “enriches our society,” and said, “When people come to Canada with their talents, hopes & dreams, they come ready to work hard, strengthen our communities & build a better future for all of us.”