Canada visa: As the nation continues to grapple with the issue of increasing population, PM Justin Trudeau explained why Canada was changing its immigration policies. While he acknowledged that teams “could have acted quicker," Trudeau added that Canada's new immigration plan was “straightforward and simple.”
Trudeau’s admission came in a seven-minute YouTube clip released on Sunday, which brought together several headlines about Canada's immigration flaws into a montage.
“Looking back, when the post-pandemic boom cooled and businesses no longer needed the additional labour help, as a federal team we could have acted quicker and turned off the taps faster,” Trudeau stated in the video.
With the 2025 election approaching and his Liberal government trailing in the polls, Trudeau has faced growing public and political pressure over immigration. Critics have increasingly tied higher immigration rates to issues such as shortages of affordable housing and rising inflation.
Trudeau stated that Canada's new immigration plan is “straightforward and simple.” He added that permanent residents “with the required skills”, such as healthcare staff, construction workers would be prioritised.
Canada's new immigration plan will reduce the number of permanent residents admitted to Canada, aiming for 395,000 in 2025—a nearly 20% decrease from the 485,000 projected for this year.
Temporary immigrants, including international students and foreign workers, will also face cuts, with annual numbers expected to drop to 446,000 by 2025 and 2026. Additionally, the plan anticipates just 17,400 new non-permanent residents by 2027.
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, Trudeau explained that Canada increased immigration to strengthen the labour market and prevent a recession. However, he acknowledged that some groups had exploited these programs for financial gain.
"Some saw it as an opportunity to profit and game the system. We saw far too many large corporations do this," Trudeau said in the video.
He further criticised colleges and universities for exploiting international student programs to boost their revenues, and condemned scammers for taking advantage of vulnerable immigrants with false promises of citizenship.
