Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada's long-held consensus on immigration is under threat, but has not disappeared.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to slash Canada's immigration targets by 20 per cent next year and admitted his government did not get the balance right after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused the Liberals of trying to correct course after destroying the national consensus on immigration Conservatives and Liberals have held for 150 years.
He says attitudes toward immigrants have soured thanks to the policies of the last several years, as Liberals ramped up the number of permanent residents and the number of temporary residents ballooned.
Trudeau's massive flip-flop yesterday is an admission that NDP-Liberals destroyed Canada's immigration system.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) October 25, 2024
Trudeau can't fix what he broke. NDP-Liberals are not worth the cost: https://t.co/oshR2VRiZT pic.twitter.com/FCqfqV4DZI
Miller says concerns about social cohesion and anti-immigrant sentiments exist in Canada, as they always have, and the new targets won't entirely assuage people's fears.
Pierre Poilievre is so unprepared, he’s still trying to figure out his immigration slogan. pic.twitter.com/9Xda3k5EKO
— Marc Miller ᐅᑭᒫᐃᐧᐅᓃᐸᐄᐧᐤᐃᔨᐣ (@MarcMillerVM) October 25, 2024
He says the government needs to respond to Canadians who are concerned about the volume of newcomers but he also hopes people, provinces and institutions who have benefited from immigration will speak up.
