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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced big cuts to Canada’s immigration programme in response to growing public backlash over the impact of migration on the cost of living and housing affordability.
On Thursday, Trudeau said the government would slash the number of new permanent residents it would approve over the next three years as it rolled back what was considered one of the world’s most progressive immigration schemes.
“We are acting today because in the tumultuous times, as we emerged from the pandemic, between addressing labour needs and maintaining population growth, we didn’t get the balance quite right,” he said.
Last November, Canada’s target was 500,000 new permanent residents for 2025 and 2026. Immigration minister Marc Miller said the number of new permanent residents would be cut by 21 per cent to 395,000 next year and further reduced to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
“These are difficult choices,” Miller said. “This is still an ambitious plan but it is a reasonable plan.”
Miller said it was “unfair” to blame migrants for Canada’s problems but acknowledged that infrastructure had been unable to keep up with the “aggressive” numbers.
An Abacus Data poll this month reported that 53 per cent of Canadians view immigration negatively.
However, the business community criticised the cuts, saying they would deter foreign investment.
“Immigration is a key driver of economic growth and our only source of workforce growth in the near future,” said Diana Palmerin-Velasco, a senior director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “It is more imperative than ever in the context of the ageing of our population, low fertility rates and current wave of retirements.”
After nearly a decade of increased immigration since Trudeau’s Liberal government was first elected in 2015, Canada in September cut its temporary workers scheme, which had also been blamed for hitting housing affordability and rising youth unemployment.
“Far too many corporations have chosen to abuse our temporary measures employed in exploiting foreign workers while refusing to hire Canadians for a fair wage,” Trudeau said on Thursday.
But the prime minister’s press conference was dominated by questions about his leadership after his popularity plummeted in recent months. Trudeau trails opposition Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre by 13 points, according to the latest Nanos Research poll.
Poilievre said on Thursday that Canada’s immigration system was “broken”.
“Immigration was never a controversial topic in Canada and now, after nine years of Trudeau, it is,” he told reporters.
Trudeau on Thursday insisted he would stay on as prime minister of his minority government and head of the Liberal party despite months of speculation over his leadership and an ultimatum this month from up to 40 Liberal MPs to step down.
“We continue to have great conversations about how we can be united to defeat Pierre Poilievre, but that will be with me as leader into the next election,” he said.
Pressure has grown on Trudeau to step down after the party lost two safe parliamentary seats in by-elections in June and September. In September, the New Democratic party also tore up a deal to support the Liberal minority government in confidence votes, raising the chance of a snap election well before the scheduled date of October 2025.