Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that his government made errors in its immigration policy, allowing exploitation by entities such as fake colleges and large corporations. Trudeau's comments came as his Liberal Party faces declining popularity ahead of the 2025 general election in Canada.
The prime minister is under public scrutiny for policies contributing to housing shortages, inflation, and strained health and transport systems. The opposition Conservative Party has criticised his government for mismanagement and neglecting Canadian citizens' needs.
In a video message on his YouTube channel, Trudeau stated, "In the last two years, our population has grown really fast, like a baby boom...Increasingly bad actors like fake colleges and big chain corporations have been exploiting our immigration system for their own interests." To address this, he announced a reduction in the number of immigrants coming to Canada over the next three years. "We made some mistakes and that's why we are taking this big turn," he explained.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller outlined the government's revised immigration strategy last month, indicating that Canada will admit about 3,95,000 permanent residents in 2025, a decrease of nearly 20 per cent from the 4,85,000 expected this year.
The plan also targets temporary immigrants, including international students and foreign workers, whose numbers are set to drop to about 4,46,000 in 2025 and 2026, down from around 8,00,000 this year. By 2027, Canada will accept only 17,400 new non-permanent residents, according to the new policy.
Canada has also ended the popular SDS fast track study visa programme, a significant policy shift likely to affect many international students, including those from India. India is the largest source of foreign students in Canada, with an estimated 4,27,000 Indian students currently studying there. Trudeau mentioned that for years, the focus was on Permanent Immigration, where people come with family to settle, while the temporary immigration pathway, involving international students and temporary workers, was overlooked.
Trudeau noted that after the pandemic, Canada's economy rebounded quickly, leading to a significant demand for workers. "We wanted more workers fast. We were in the midst of a huge labour shortage. Temporary foreign workers became such a significant part of our workforce...So, we brought in more workers," he said, adding that it was the right decision and it worked. "Our economy grew. Restaurants and stores reopened, businesses kept running, but most importantly, in spite of lots of economists’ predictions, we avoided the worst-case scenario -- a recession,” he said.
However, he admitted that some exploited the system for profit. "We have seen way too many large corporations doing this. Far too many colleges and universities used international students to raise their bottom line because they could charge these students tens of thousands of dollars more for the same degree," Trudeau said. He also highlighted the issue of "really bad actors" exploiting vulnerable immigrants with false promises of jobs, diplomas, and pathways to citizenship.
He reflected that the government could have acted sooner when the post-pandemic boom subsided, and businesses no longer required the additional workforce. Canada's new immigration plan is clear-cut -- reducing the number of both permanent and temporary immigrants, focusing on permanent residents with essential skills like healthcare and construction workers.
Trudeau stated that reducing the cap on immigrants was necessary to tackle the housing crisis and cost-of-living challenges. "The goal is to help stabilise population growth while housing stocks catch up, and then to consider gradually increasing immigration rates once again," he said, adding that this pause will "give our economy and our communities the chance to catch up with things like our plan to build more homes".
Trudeau also mentioned that some temporary residents might turn to Canada's asylum system when their visas expire, with claims to be analysed and processed, and if unsuccessful, they will be sent home.