The Canadian government will decrease the number of temporary residents allowed into the country.
Jerrymusa.com reports that at an Ottawa press conference, Immigration Minister Marc Miller made the announcement.
Miller announced that, similar to what happens with new permanent residents, the government would for the first time set goals for the proportion of temporary residents to the overall population of Canada.
Canada to Cut Down Migration
The number of temporary residents in Canada has increased dramatically in recent years.
“From the influx of foreign students to the hiring of foreign labour to the evacuating of people from natural disasters and wars,” he stated.
For example, Miller predicted that “by the end of the month, we will have close to 300,000 arrivals of Ukrainians in Canada.”
The minister of immigration stated, “These are major global commitments,” and that “an honest discourse about what the growth in international migration means for Canada as we plan ahead.”
According to Miller, there were 2.5 million temporary residents in Canada in 2023, or 6.2% of the country’s total population.
In three years, he said, the Canadian government expects that percentage to drop to five percent.
In order to debate the lowered targets for temporary residents, the minister announced that he would call a meeting of his counterparts from Canada’s ten provinces and three territories.
The Canadian government said in November 2024 that it intended to have 500,000 permanent residents by 2025.
Miller declared in January that Canada would impose a ceiling on the number of foreign students, who account for 42% of the nation’s temporary residents.
Nonetheless, until at least August 31, firms in the construction and healthcare industries will be permitted to employ temporary foreign workers.
“There is a severe labour shortage in these places, and given our government’s goal of constructing 2.5 million homes over the next ten years, we must employ every person possible in the construction industry.
Boissonnault stated, “We also want to make sure that our healthcare sector has the workers it needs.”