The Canadian government is planning to introduce new measures to limit temporary immigration and has decided not to move forward with a broad program that would grant legal status to undocumented residents, according to a report by Reuters.
Marc Miller, Canada’s immigration minister, mentioned that the country is shifting away from allowing uncapped programs for immigration. He explained that it’s a significant change and can’t happen overnight. The number of new residents in Canada, especially temporary residents, has dramatically increased, as many businesses struggled to find workers after the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the growing number of immigrants is being blamed for worsening housing conditions and an affordability crisis in the country. Critics argue that the government is allowing too many people to enter. Miller pointed out that Canadians want an immigration system that makes sense and continues to be welcoming but is also well-regulated.
Earlier this year, the government introduced a two-year cap on international students, addressing concerns that this group was using student visas as a pathway to enter Canada. In March, Canada also announced its first-ever limit on temporary immigration, to reduce the number of temporary residents from 6.2 percent of the population in 2023 to 5 percent over the next three years. This reduction would mean cutting about 20 percent of the 2.5 million temporary residents in 2023.
However, the Bank of Canada expressed doubts about whether the government could achieve this goal, noting that the percentage of non-permanent residents had risen to 6.8 percent by April 2024 and is expected to continue increasing shortly.
Canada is also facing record refugee claims, with over 18,000 in June alone. This is despite efforts to discourage asylum-seekers by closing the land border to them through an agreement with the United States and by introducing new visa requirements for Mexicans.
Immigrants who came to Canada hoping for better opportunities are now facing the worst job crisis in a decade. The unemployment rate for recent immigrants who arrived within the last five years was 12.6 percent in June 2024, the highest in ten years. This situation is likely to affect Indians the most, as they make up the largest group of new permanent residents in Canada.
In 2023, Indians accounted for nearly 30 percent of Canada’s 471,810 new permanent residents. From 2019 to 2023, of the 1.8 million new permanent residents, over half a million were from India. As of June 2024, 1.4 million people were unemployed in Canada, an increase of 42,000 from the previous month.
