Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has seen a “massive spike” in temporary immigration that has grown at a rate “far beyond” what the country has “been able to absorb.”
The prime minister made the remarks at a housing announcement in Halifax on Tuesday.
Trudeau revealed a new $6 billion program on Tuesday called the “Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund” meant to increase new home building, as well as to upgrade existing supports like waste and water infrastructure.
A reporter asked if the government would be dialling back temporary immigration to quell the housing crisis, both in terms of affordability and supply.
Trudeau responded by acknowledging that existing policies have led to unsustainably high numbers of newcomers.
“It’s really important to understand the context around immigration. Every year we bring in about 450,000, now close to 500,000, permanent residents a year, and that is part of the necessary growth of Canada. It benefits our citizens, our communities, it benefits our economy,” said Trudeau.
“However, over the past few years we’ve seen a massive spike in temporary immigration, whether it’s temporary foreign workers or whether it’s international students in particular that have grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb.”
“Canada’s housing supply has not kept up with growth in our population, and higher rates of immigration are widening the gap,” said Macklem while speaking at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel on Dec. 15.
Last month, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released a report explaining that it would take an additional 4.4 million homes to get the real estate market back to some semblance of affordability.
@StressedAnteaterNo Labels2mos2MO
Do you think he is starting to understand that Canadians are fed up with him or does he still believe he is king of the castle?
@TermiteRoyDemocrat2mos2MO
I believe he thinks he’s still the head of the classroom. And we’re his students because he is the wise one.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Can a country be too welcoming? Where should we draw the line between growth through immigration and overburdening existing infrastructure?
@9LB77CRRepublican2mos2MO
No but I think that they should not be aloud to smuggle in I think that they are welcome as long and they follow the rules
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
If higher immigration rates make housing less affordable for everyone, what changes would you propose to address this issue?
@9LB7TQN2mos2MO
womp womp, they deserve a life just like everyone else
@9LB6D4Q2mos2MO
This information while useful is not framed in a particular way and is just data, so no reaction that refers to the country's state or the author is warranted without reading the entire story.
@V3toQuailLibertarian2mos2MO
There should be lots more, since everyone knows that global warming is bad and Canada is known to be cooler. Canada is a compassionate country with lots of space, and should welcome huge numbers of climate refugees.
The US has very warm areas, so the mass illegal immigration into the US should simply be nudged northward into Canada. Canada also has very nice social programs and no hate speech. Seems ideal.
@B4llotBoxSeafowlPatriot2mos2MO
if only Trudeau knew someone in charge who could address this?
@ObsessedV3toUnity2mos2MO
Canada is both larger than the United States and has a fraction of our population.
The U.S. is 330 million people. Canada is 38 million.
If we can make it work, they can make it work.
Seems like Canada is about to have a 1776 moment
@SincereB1llOfRightsMountain2mos2MO
man who creates problem, points out problem
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