Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged the challenges posed by the increase.
In temporary immigrants entering the North American country, and stated that it had surpassed Canada’s capacity to absorb them and the situation needed to be brought “under control”. Indians form a major chunk of foreign workers and international students in Canada.
Speaking at an event in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Trudeau highlighted the sharp rise in temporary immigration, particularly international students and foreign workers.
“Whether it’s temporary foreign workers or whether it’s international students in particular, that have grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb,” said Justin Trudeau in a event.
Trudeau mentioned that back in 2017, only 2% of the population consisted of temporary immigrants, but now it’s grown to 7.5%.
“To give an example, in 2017, two per cent of Canada’s population was made up of temporary immigrants. Now we’re at 7.5 per cent of our population comprised of temporary immigrants. That’s something we need to get back under control,” Trudeau was quoted as saying by Global News.
The Prime Minister added that this situation is causing mental health issues for international students and making businesses depend more on temporary foreign workers, which lowers wages in certain industries.
“We want to get those numbers down. It’s a responsible approach to immigration that continues on our permanent residents, as we have, but also hold the line a little more on the temporary immigration that has caused so much pressure in our communities,” said Trudeau.
In October, 44.5% of Canadians told Ekos there were too many immigrants, citing lack of affordable housing as their main reason, up from a 30-year low of 14% in February 2022. Rental inflation hit 7.8% in the final quarter of last year.
HOUSING SHORTAGE CONCERNS
In 2022, Canada welcomed 5.5 lakh international students. 40% of the total, at 2.26 lakh, were from India. And there were 3.2 lakh Indians staying in Canada on student visas.
But the pace of immigration has outpaced the construction of houses in Canada. So much so that Canada will be short by 35 lakh residential units by 2030.
Canada Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced on March 21 that Ottawa will set targets for the number of temporary residents allowed into Canada to ensure sustainable growth.
Over the next three years, the goal is to reduce the amount of temporary residents to 5% of Canada’s population.
Regarding permanent residents, Canada aims to welcome 485,000 new immigrants, with plans to increase to 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026, according to the Global News report.
In January, Canada announced an immediate two-year cap on international student permits and a freeze on certain postgraduate work visas, drawing a line on record newcomer arrivals amid a burgeoning housing crisis.
The move, expected to reduce study permit approvals by 35% to roughly 360,000 in 2024, comes as the federal government faces mounting pressure over concerns that its ambitious immigration targets are exacerbating a national housing shortage.