In Tuesday’s budget, Canadians will be informed about the federal government’s adjusted immigration approach, responding to shifting public views on immigration and previous reductions in targets. Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed the government’s aim to manage immigration more effectively during a speech at the University of Ottawa. The Trudeau administration had decreased immigration levels following a surge in the post-pandemic labor shortage.
In 2024, the government announced a reduction in the target for permanent residents from 500,000 to 395,000 for the current year, with further decreases planned. Additionally, international student permit quotas were cut by 10 percent. This adjustment came as a majority of Canadians expressed concerns about the volume of immigrants entering Canada for the first time since polling began in 1996.
Usha George, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, noted that the post-pandemic immigration surge strained public services such as housing, transportation, and healthcare. The unemployment rate in Canada, which stood at 7.1 percent in September, presented a more challenging situation for recent immigrants, with an 11.1 percent unemployment rate in the previous year, double that of Canadian-born individuals.
Phil Triadafilopoulos, a political science associate professor at the University of Toronto, criticized the government for lowering standards for economic immigrants and admitting individuals who lacked the necessary qualifications. However, there is a demand in the business sector for high-skilled labor in emerging industries.
Anne Patterson, the chief research and communications officer at the Information and Communications Technology Council, emphasized the need to shift focus from volume-based immigration to precision-based immigration, aligning pathways with national technology priorities like AI and cybersecurity.
Recent changes to U.S. visa policies have raised calls in Canada to attract specialized talent. Business leaders view this as an opportunity to draw skilled workers to Canada and bring back Canadians who had moved to the U.S. for job opportunities. Challenges faced by the Canadian tech sector, such as delays in the immigration system, lower salaries, and expensive housing, hinder talent attraction efforts.
Rob Goehring, CEO of AI startup Wisr, stressed the importance of a robust international talent pipeline for industry growth. However, George cautioned against making significant policy changes solely in response to alterations in U.S. visa policies, highlighting the importance of aligning immigration decisions with labor market demands.
