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Housing crunch prompts efforts to stabilize immigration levels, say federal ministers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Jan, 2024 11:42 AM

Housing Minister Sean Fraser and Immigration Minister Marc Miller say the federal government is working to stabilize the number of people entering the country every year as housing pressures mount.

The Canadian Press reported Thursday on internal documents from 2022 showing senior public servants had been warned a major increase in immigration could affect access to housing and services.

The federal government ultimately decided to increase the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes each year to 500,000 in 2025 — nearly double the amount from 2015.

Guelph is building more housing!

We’re partnering with them to add 750 new homes in the next 3 years, and 9,450 in the next 10. This will help to ensure that as Guelph grows, students, young people, families, and seniors can find affordable places to live. pic.twitter.com/5vTZZCQvem
— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) January 12, 2024

In a joint statement today, the Liberal ministers are defending the decision to boost immigration levels, noting the economy would have otherwise shrunk after the COVID-19 pandemic.

They say businesses facing labour shortages would have closed and that health care and other services would also have been affected.

But they also say housing pressures have pushed the government to stabilize immigration levels, which includes temporary resident admissions as they reform the international students program.

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