Canada Housing Minister and former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has hinted that the federal government may consider changes to the country\u2019s historically high immigration levels targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we look to the future of immigration levels planning, we want to maintain ambition and immigration, but we want to better align our immigration policies with the absorptive capacity of communities that includes housing, that includes health care, that includes infrastructure,\u00a0\u00bb Sean Fraser told Vassy Kapelos in an interview on CTV\u2019s Question Period.<\/p>\n
Elaborating on the proposal detailed above, Fraser mentioned how the federal government has \u201csome work to do\u201d with its temporary immigration programs, which operate in an \u201cuncapped way\u201d based on demand.<\/p>\n
This does not mean that the number of newcomers need to be necessarily reduced, however.<\/p>\n
Rather, the federal government needs to give careful consideration to the immigration targets in consultation with other levels of governments (as the decision on which institutions are welcoming international students<\/span><\/a> lies within the provincial domain) and institutions that have \u201ca duty to play part of a role in housing the people who come here.\u201d<\/p>\n Read More<\/b><\/p>\n Alberta Express Entry Draw Targets Healthcare Workers With CRS As Low As 300<\/a><\/span> Fraser also argued that this immigration review should not be Canada\u2019s sole focus, but should go hand-in-hand with efforts to increase housing supply<\/span><\/a> to address current housing challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s important that when we’re looking at the answer to our housing challenges, we also focus on what we can do to increase the supply.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s essential that we remember that immigration remains one of Canada’s strongest competitive advantages in the global economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s current targets \u2013 which are historical in scale, looking at welcoming an estimated 500,000 newcomers per year till 2025 \u2013 were introduced by Fraser last year, when he was still Canada\u2019s Minister of Immigration.<\/p>\n While the original reason for these targets, according to Fraser, was Canada\u2019s economic prosperity by filling in labour shortages, several experts in the fields of academia, banking, and politics have since warned the federal government that the country\u2019s high-growth immigration strategy is causing the current housing crisis.<\/p>\n For example, the CTV news report covering this story details how a TD report from July estimated that if the current immigration strategy continues, Canada\u2019s housing shortfall could potentially widen by half a million units in just two years.<\/p>\n Another example of experts urging Canada to cut down immigration numbers comes from The Globe and Mail columnist Tony Keller<\/span><\/a>, who \u2013 highlighting a deterioration in the international student immigration system \u2013 suggested putting a cap on the number of international students coming to Canada.<\/p>\n Watch video:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
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\n<\/b>Canadian immigration to re-open the Parents and Grandparents Program this autumn\u202f<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
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