Canada's Changing Attitudes Towards Immigrants And Justin Trudeau's Policy

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Canada, once known to value newcomers, recently announced a sharp cut in the number of immigrants it allows into the country in an effort to "pause population growth". This marked a notable shift in policy for the Justin Trudeau government. In one of the "most stringent immigration cutbacks yet", Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced last year a 21% reduction of permanent residents accepted into the country in 2025.

For decades, Canada's immigration policies were tailored to boost its population, fill labour gaps and settle refugees fleeing conflict from around the world, BBC reported. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government relied heavily on ambitious immigration targets to drive economic growth, admitted earlier this year that the approach had been a“mistake”.

In a video posted on Trudeau's YouTube channel in November 2024, Trudeau admitted that his government made "mistakes" in its immigration policy which led to "bad actors" like "fake colleges" and big corporations exploiting the system for their vested interests.

"In the last two years, our population has grown really fast, like a baby boom...Increasingly bad actors like fake colleges and big chain corporations have been exploiting our immigration system for their own interests," Trudeau had said.

To combat this, "we are reducing the number of immigrants who are coming to Canada for the next three years," he said. "We made some mistakes and that's why we are taking this big turn," he said, justifying his government's action.

Trudeau had said the cut on the cap on immigrants coming to Canada was necessary to address its housing crisis and cost-of-living issues.

A month before Trudeau's comments, Immigration Minister Marc Miller had said that Canada will admit approximately 3,95,000 permanent residents in 2025, marking a drop of nearly 20 percent from the 4,85,000 expected this year, news agency PTI reported.

The plan also sets a target for temporary immigrants, including international students and foreign workers. Their numbers are expected to drop to about 4,46,000 in 2025 and 2026, down from roughly 8,00,000 this year. By 2027, Canada will accept just 17,400 new non-permanent residents, the new policy suggested.

Canada's new immigration plan is "straightforward – lower the number of immigrants – both permanent and temporary," Trudeau had said, adding that the government is prioritising permanent residents with the skills it needs like healthcare and construction workers.

Canada also ended the popular fast track study visa programme, SDS, a major policy decision that was expected to impact scores of international students, including from India. According to the Indian High Commission, India is the largest source country of foreign students with an estimated 4,27,000 Indian students studying in Canada.

Trudeau had said that for years, Canada's immigration system only focused on Permanent Immigration, where people come with family to settle in Canada, and the government decides the number of permanent residents that it wants to admit each year.

However, in doing so, it missed "the other pathway -- the temporary immigration", which involves international students, temporary workers and so on. "After the (coronavirus) pandemic, our economy came roaring back quickly. We wanted more workers fast. We were in the midst of a huge labour shortage. Temporary foreign workers became such a significant part of our workforce...So, we brought in more workers," Trudeau was quoted as saying.

"And it was the right choice and it worked," Trudeau emphasised. "Our economy grew. Restaurants and stores reopened, businesses kept running, but most importantly, in spite of lots of economists' predictions, we avoided

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