Canada has unveiled plans to slash the number of permanent residents allowed into the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller made the announcement Thursday morning.
Miller said they have lowered next year’s projections from 500,000 permanent residents to 395,000 — a drop of more than 20 per cent.
“After that in 2026, a progression down to 380,000 to stabilize the numbers at 365,000 in 2027,” Miller said during the announcement.
The immigration plan also reduces the number of temporary residents to five per cent of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.
Miller said the temporary population will decline by 445,901 in 2025 and 445,662 in 2026 before increasing slightly by 17,439 in 2027.
Those reductions stem from a series of changes over the past year, including a cap on international students and tightened eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers.
“The caps that we’ve put in place are not measures that we took lightly nor are the measures taken today ones that we’re taking lightly without reflection,” said Miller.
“We are an open country but not everyone can come to this country. Permanent residency is something that we hold dear, it has a value, as does Canadian citizenship.”
Federal officials said the move aims to alleviate pressures on housing, infrastructure and social services.
Trudeau added that the changes will result in a pause in Canada’s population growth over the next two years.
“Immigration is essential to Canada’s future but it must be controlled and it must be sustainable,” he said. “With today’s annual immigration plan, that’s precisely what we’re doing.”
