Planning for sustainable immigration

Immigration Minister Marc Miller remarked that the country has become “quite addicted” to temporary foreign workers.

He wasn’t wrong. In recent years, the number of temporary residents overall who come to Canada to work and study had ballooned seemingly unchecked with no apparent overarching strategy or thought about the knock-on strains it would place on housing, health care and education.

Canada’s population grew by 1.3 million people to total population of 40.7 million in 2023, the highest growth rate since 1957, according to Statistics Canada. Most of that growth — some 804,901 people — was from temporary immigration. There are 2.7 million temporary residents in Canada, up from 1.4 million just two years ago.

Now the Liberals are trying to stem the influx. Miller announced last week that over the next three years, the share of temporary residents of the overall population will be reduced to five per cent, down from 6.2 per cent now. That works out to about 500,000 fewer people, or 20 per cent of the total.

Failure to act would have meant “exponential” growth and “exploitative” conditions for vulnerable foreigners, Miller said during a session at the Democracy Forum at Toronto Metropolitan University.

The government intends to announce actual targets this fall for temporary residents, who are comprised of international students, work permit holders and asylum seekers. But it was important to signal that the government was acting on this front.

No doubt, temporary foreign workers are essential to helping address labour needs across the country. International students enrich the academic life on post-secondary campuses.

But the influx of temporary residents has also added to the strains of the housing market, particularly for rental accommodation. Ironically, it’s low-paid temporary foreign workers who often feel this cost burden most of all. And there was the increasing concern that the debates around temporary residents risked undermining the country’s long acceptance of immigrants and the contributions to the social and economic fabric of the nation.

The rapidly swelling numbers suggested that the government had just swung open the door with no coherent plan. Against that backdrop, the government had to act, to put in place more rigour around its temporary resident programs.

Yet, the big question is how much Ottawa can truly reduce the numbers. The government, after all, can’t control how many asylum seekers are going to show up. Nor how many it rightly provides refuge to when displaced by conflicts or natural disasters abroad.

The only leverage it has is on the international students and the temporary foreign workers. In January, the government capped the international student permit applications for two years. The 2024 limit is about 360,000 permits down 35 per cent from 2023.

Yet the government’s response — and resulting knock-on effects — underscore the complexities of the immigration system. For example, international students pay drastically higher tuitions making them a rich source of revenue for cash-strapped postsecondary institutions. How lucrative? Tuesday’s Ontario budget estimates that they

Ottawa can’t clampdown on student permits will cost Ontario

control how colleges alone more than $3 billion in

many asylum lost revenue over the next three years.

seekers are Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault

has promised more stringent rules for employers

going to show seeking to hire migrant workers. For

up. Nor how example, businesses can have temporary foreign

many it rightly workers make up 20 per cent of their

provides labour force, down from 30 per cent. But here

refuge to when too the government has to be careful about

not hurting employers with legitimate labour

displaced by needs. While restrictions are imposed on

conflicts or temporary foreign workers, there’s also a

natural need to fine-tune both the temporary and

disasters permanent residence programs to make sure

abroad. The Canada is welcoming those who meet the

country’s demands.

only leverage As he settles into his role as minister, Miller

it has is on the seems to have the political will to tackle some

international of these long-standing issues. He said he will

students and convene a meeting of provincial, territorial

and federal ministers in May for discussions

the temporary

around immigration targets. That would be a

foreign good start to crafting overarching immigration

workers vision for the country.