How Canada got nervous about immigration

For decades, Canada has presented itself as a country open to newcomers, with immigration policies designed to boost its population, fill labor gaps and settle refugees fleeing conflicts from around the world.

But in recent months, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he intends to significantly reduce the number of immigrants allowed in Canada as public concern grows about inaccessible social services, high costs of living and unaffordable housing.

It’s a major shift for both the country and Trudeau, who ran in 2015 on a platform that embraced multiculturalism as a core part of Canadian identity.

His government relied on ambitious immigration goals to fuel economic growth.

Facing criticism and low approval ratings, the prime minister now says his government miscalculated and that Canada needs to “stabilize” its population growth so public infrastructure can keep up.

On Thursday, Trudeau and Immigration Minister Mark Miller introduced their toughest immigration cuts yet – A 21% discount for permanent residents accepted in the country In 2025.

The announcement comes after other cuts to Canada’s temporary residence programs, which include temporary foreign workers and international students.

Explaining his policy shift, Trudeau asserted that “Canadians are justifiably proud” of their immigration system.

“It has made our economy the envy of the world,” he said. “It’s how we build strong, diverse communities.”

But Trudeau acknowledged that his government “did not get the balance right” when it accepted a record number of temporary residents after the COVID-19 pandemic to ease labor shortages, and that there is now a need to “stabilize” Canada’s immigration system. .

His announcement comes in the wake of waning public support for immigration in Canada.

A September poll by the Environics Institute, which has been tracking Canadians’ attitudes toward immigration since 1977, found that for the first time in a quarter century, a majority now says there is too much immigration.

These changing attitudes are primarily driven by concerns about limited housing, the institute said. But the economy, population growth, and how the immigration system is managed have also been cited as big factors.

In an October newsletter, David Colletto, a pollster at Abacus Data, said the idea that “the immigration consensus is cracking is a cliché.”

“I believe the consensus has now been broken and I expect it to be one of the most prominent issues in federal and provincial politics over the next year.”

Canada is very welcoming to immigrants. Data show it is a world leader in refugee resettlement, and the country has gained a reputation in the past 50 years as one that values ​​new arrivals.

The Canadian Multiculturalism Act, passed in 1988, recognizes diversity as an integral part of Canada’s identity. Its multicultural heritage is also protected in the constitution.

“Since the late 1990s or so, Canadian attitudes have been broadly pro-immigration,” Michael Donnelly, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, told the BBC.

In 2019, Pew Research Report He noted that among the top 10 destination countries for immigrants, Canada had the most positive view of immigration.

Professor Donnelly said immigrants make up a large portion of the electorate in Canada, which prevents major political parties from adopting an anti-immigration stance.

Canada rarely encountered the problems seen elsewhere of uncontrolled immigration—an advantage of its geography, surrounded by three oceans and the United States to the south—and its immigration system was viewed by the general public as open and well-regulated.

But Professor Donnelly said these positive sentiments had changed in the past few years.

One reason is the unprecedented rise in the number of temporary residents coming to Canada.

The number of international students rose by nearly 30% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Canadian Bureau for International Education. Meanwhile, government data shows the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada has doubled in the past five years.

Another factor is a growing sense that Canada’s immigration system has lost its integrity, partly due to miscalculations by the Canadian government, Professor Donnelly said.

Asylum applications rose after Canada eliminated visa requirements for tourists from Mexico in 2016, forcing Canada to reimpose visa restrictions earlier this year.

Canadian media also reported that some international students are using their temporary visas to claim permanent asylum in the country — a trend Minister Miller described as “troubling.”

Professor Donnelly said these and other incidents “made people believe that the government had lost control of the flow of migration”.

He added that all of these concerns are underscored by the housing crisis that has affected Canadians across the country, as a shortage of available homes has pushed up rents and home prices for many.

“People will see large numbers of (new arrivals) coming in and facing a housing shortage, and conclude that this is a direct cause,” he said.

Professor Donnelly noted that although Canada has seen some racist rhetoric around immigration, Canadians’ changing attitudes are not primarily driven by the sentiments we see in European countries or in the neighboring United States.

Rather, it is fueled by people’s desire to control the Canadian immigration system.

“The Trudeau government is clearly trying to give the image that this is under control,” Professor Donnelly said.