Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday that Canada is scaling back its immigration policy, signaling a shift away from its previously open-door approach.
The new plan will cut the annual target for permanent residents by 21%, lowering it to 395,000 for 2025, with further reductions to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. This contrasts sharply with the earlier target of 500,000 for both 2025 and 2026.
In addition, Trudeau revealed that the proportion of international students, foreign workers, and refugees—collectively referred to as temporary residents—will be reduced to 5% over the next three years, down from the current 7.2%.
These cuts come in response to a recent tracking poll by the Environics Institute, which indicated that 58% of Canadians feel there is too much immigration. The results were released just days prior to the announcement of the immigration reductions.
Trudeau acknowledged that the government’s previous immigration goals were overly ambitious. “In the tumultuous times as we emerged from the pandemic, we didn’t get the balance quite right between addressing labor needs and maintaining population growth,” he stated during a news conference. “With the plan we’re announcing today, along with previously announced measures, we’re making our immigration system work better.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller was more direct, stating, “We have listened to Canadians,” according to a report by the Toronto Star.
Canada’s population has surged by about 2 million, rising from 38 million in June 2023 to approximately 41 million by the end of that year, according to Statistics Canada. Critics argue that this rapid growth has exacerbated the housing shortage in the country.
