Trudeau announces massive drop in immigration targets as Liberals make major pivot

OTTAWA — The federal government is slashing immigration targets as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits the government did not get the balance right following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government had targeted bringing in 500,000 new permanent residents in both 2025 and 2026.

Trudeau now says next year’s target will be 395,000 new permanent residents, which will continue to fall to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

“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,” Trudeau said Thursday morning.

“With the plan we’re announcing today, along with previously announced measures, we’re making our immigration system work better.”

The change comes after significant criticism of the Liberal government’s increases to immigration and the impact of strong population growth on housing availability and affordability.

The government’s goal is also to reduce the number of temporary residents to five per cent of the population over the next three years, down from 7.2 per cent in July.

The federal government estimates this will mean the non-permanent resident population will decrease by 445,901 in 2025, 445,662 in 2026 and will increase modestly by 17,439 in 2027.

The moves come after years of rapid increase to the number of new permanent residents in Canada and a ballooning number of people coming to Canada on a temporary basis, which federal ministers have conceded put pressure on housing and affordability.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the lower immigration numbers will help with the housing shortage, estimating that by 2027, Canada will need to build 670,000 fewer homes to close the gap.

Miller said the federal government expects 40 per cent of the permanent residency spots will be filled by temporary residents, which he says “makes sense.”

“These people are a young labour pool. They’re skilled, they’re here. They’ve begun their process of integration, and it doesn’t place the additional demands on the housing, health care and social services that we see with someone that comes directly from another country.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

Nojoud Al Mallees and Laura Osman, The Canadian Press