Oct. 24 (UPI) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that Canada will reduce the number of immigrants arriving in the country by hundreds of thousands over the next few years while making a rare acknowledgment that the rapid growth that aided it in rebounding from the pandemic was now straining the economy.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference in Ottawa, Trudeau praised Canada for having the fastest job recovery coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic of G7 nations due to mass immigration.
But in a rare admission of fault, Trudeau said his government “didn’t get the balance quite right” in trying to address labor needs and maintain population growth through immigration. The influx, he suggested, was at least partly to blame for issues affecting Canadians, such as stagnating wages and straining housing supply.
“Now, it is time to make the adjustments to stabilize the immigration system that we need and get it working right for Canadians for right now,” he said.
“With the plan we’re announcing today, along with previously announced measures, we’re making our immigration system work better.”
Under the plan, the number of permanent residents permitted in the country will drop from the previously announced 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
The government expects this will result in a 0.2% marginal population decline in both 2025 and 2026, before a population increase of 0.8% in 2027.
This plan, he said, also supports the one announced in September that seeks to reduce temporary resident volumes from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5% by 2026. This includes a 10% reduction in international student study permits in 2025 and more stringent requirements for foreign workers.
Through these moves, Canada’s temporary population is expected to decline by 445,901 next year and 445,662 in 2026 before experiencing a small increase of 17,439 temporary residents in 2027.
According to a statement from the federal government, these moves will support continued gross domestic product and GDP per capita growth and alleviate pressure on the housing market with expectations the housing supply gap will decrease by some 670,000 units by 2027.
Canada has a population of some 41 million people, according to Statistics Canada.
The opposition Conservative Party lambasted Trudeau and his left-leaning Liberal Party over the announcement, with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre describing it as “a massive admission of failure.”
The announcement comes as Trudeau’s popularity continues to slip among the Canadian public. Though they lack widespread support of the party, 20 Liberal members of Parliament this week called for Trudeau to step down ahead of next fall’s expected election, amid fears that the Liberals will lose to the Conservatives.
During his own press conference in response to the announcement, Poilievre accused Trudeau of having “destroyed the best immigration system in the world.”
“Trudeau’s last-minute, pre-election reversal cannot be believed. He cannot fix the immigration system that he broke,” he said.