Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration is implementing a reduction in the number of newcomers to Canada for the first time in over ten years, marking a significant shift for a nation that has historically welcomed high immigration levels.
The Canadian government has lowered its annual target for permanent residents to 395,000 for the upcoming year, a decrease of 21% from the previous goal of 500,000 established last year, as disclosed by an anonymous government official.
Canada to announce the plan
This plan is set to be officially announced on Thursday. Furthermore, the annual target will decline to 380,000 in 2026 and to 365,000 in 2027. This information was initially reported by the National Post.
Permanent residents play a crucial role in Canada’s immigration framework, which aims to attract young, highly educated workers to address the challenges posed by a rapidly aging workforce. The significant reduction in immigration targets signals the government’s intention to scale back its immigration aspirations to levels seen prior to the pandemic.
Increase in immigration
Following the easing of travel restrictions in 2022, a substantial influx of immigrants led to unprecedented population growth. This surge was akin to adding the entire population of San Diego to a country that is only slightly more populous than California within a single year. However, this increase exacerbated housing shortages, drove up rental prices, strained public services, and raised the unemployment rate.
These challenges have put at risk a long-standing belief that a high number of immigrants is beneficial for Canada in the global competition to attract young workers and avoid economic decline.
Immigration survey
Recently, the country’s most extensive survey on immigration revealed that Canadians have not expressed such strong opposition to immigration levels in the past 25 years.
In response to mounting criticism regarding immigration control, Trudeau’s government has also set out to significantly reduce the temporary resident population by imposing limits on the intake of international students and tightening regulations on the employment of foreign labor.
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