The federal government is expected to announce changes to immigration targets Thursday morning, according to CBC News sources.
The new targets are coming out nearly two months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government would consider decreasing the number of permanent residents the country accepts each year.
When CBC News asked him in August if the government is considering broader changes to the immigration system, Trudeau said the government would review its immigration levels this fall.
According to the government’s current immigration plan, published in November 2023, Canada is expected to admit about 485,000 permanent residents in 2024 and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
In August, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he would be open to adjusting the permanent resident figures the government has set for the coming years.
“I’m very open to making changes if the economy dictates it, if the social fabric dictates it,” Miller said. “That’s smart politics and it’s smart policy, and it’s something that Canadians expect us to do.”
Miller has acknowledged that he’s heard concerns about the current pace of population growth in Canada, which is among the highest in the developed world.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberals are having ‘ongoing’ conversations about immigration and the job market, saying the government will present an ‘immigration levels plan’ this fall that looks at both permanent residents as well as temporary residents.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Parliament Hill on Wednesday that immigration levels should be set according to the country’s needs. He also called for a transparent and predictable application process for families seeking permanent residency.
“When it comes to PRs [permanent residents], I know of a lot of families that have applied for and have had their applications waiting in the lurch,” he said. “That’s unfair to them.”
Singh said immigrants shouldn’t be used as “scapegoats” for the “mistakes of the Liberals and Conservatives” on affordable housing and health care.
Housing affordability is a major point of political vulnerability for the Liberal government. Internal documents obtained by The Canadian Press show that federal public servants warned the government more than two years ago that large increases to immigration could affect housing affordability and access to services.
In January, Miller and Housing Minister Sean Fraser said the federal government was working to stabilize the number of people entering the country every year as housing pressures mount.