Canada‘s population has grown to 41 million, fueled in large part by an unprecedented wave of immigration.
The Ministry of Immigration had previously planned to allow 500,000 new immigrants to settle permanently in the country in 2025 and 2026. However, these goals were revised and reduced to 395,000 next year and 380,000 immigrants in 2026. In 2027, it is planned to receive 365,000 people in the country.
The Immigration Ministry said the plan aims to “stop population growth in the short term to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth in the long term”.
“While it is clear that our economy needs newcomers, we see the pressures our country is facing and we need to adjust our policies accordingly,” said Immigration Minister Mark Miller.
The Ministry stated that the aim is also to reduce the pressure on the issue of housing. Canadians consistently cite the cost of renting or owning a home as one of the top concerns.
The ministry believes that the increase in immigration has helped the Canadian economy to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic without falling into recession. However, a survey conducted last month by the Environics Institute on public attitudes towards immigration found that “for the first time in a quarter of a century, an overwhelming majority of Canadians believe that immigration is too great.”
The survey found that 58% of Canadians believe that the country welcomes too many immigrants, which is 14 percentage points more than in 2023.