ChatGPT summary of reactions to immigration section of Budget 2025

2025/11/06 Leave a comment

Reasonable summary (still going through the old way as well):

Nice — here’s a compact, source-backed briefing on reactions to the immigration measures in Canada’s 2025 federal budget, organized by the sub-sections you asked for.

Quick framing: the Budget and accompanying 2026–28 Immigration Levels Plan signal sizeable reductions in temporary resident targets (including international students and temporary foreign workers) and cuts to some refugee resettlement streams. Those policy choices are driving the reactions summarized below. (Budget Canada)

Media commentary

  • Overall tone: widespread note of political risk and policy reset — most national outlets frame the changes as a significant scaling back from the high post-pandemic targets and stress both the political logic (housing, service pressure) and economic trade-offs (labour supply). (Global News)
  • Coverage highlights the scale of reductions: reporters emphasize steep drops in international student arrivals (roughly 60% lower in 2025 vs 2024) and large cuts to temporary worker targets. Coverage also flags the government’s claim that arrivals and asylum claims have already fallen this year. (Budget Canada)
  • Some outlets place the budget in an election-cycle context — discussing short-term political calculations vs longer-term economic impact. (Global News)

Business reaction

  • Broad concern from employer and industry groups that lower targets will worsen labour shortages in key sectors (hospitality, restaurants, health care, construction, seasonal work). Many business groups warn the rollbacks send negative signals to investors and could constrain growth. (HCAMag)
  • Sector example: Restaurants Canada called the reductions “incredibly concerning,” pointing to a fall in temporary resident admissions from ~673,650 (2025 baseline) to ~370,000 by 2027 and warned of staffing crises for foodservice. (Restaurants Canada)
  • Some business commentators acknowledge the government’s stated goals (relief on housing and services) but emphasize that tightening labour supply may raise costs and reduce capacity for many SMEs. (HCAMag)

Provincial reactions

  • Mixed responses across provinces: jurisdictions with tight housing/health pressures (and those with political sensitivity on immigration) publicly welcomed the “sustainable” framing, while labour-short provinces and municipalities expressed alarm about workforce impacts. Local leaders in some cities framed the budget as a cautious “sign of confidence” for fiscal matters but cautiously noted labour impacts. (Global News)
  • Provinces that rely heavily on international students and temporary workers (e.g., provinces with big post-secondary or seasonal industries) have highlighted immediate operational concerns for employers, colleges, and municipalities. (Provincial press releases and municipal reaction pieces stress localized impacts.) (Global News)

Education sector

  • Strong, largely negative reaction from universities and college leaders: cuts to international study-permit targets are described as “alarming” and “deep” (reports indicate new international student arrivals were roughly 60% lower in 2025 vs 2024), creating immediate financial and operational stress for institutions and student supports. (University Affairs)
  • Association and sector commentaries note the budget also funds research recruitment (~$1.7B referenced in sector analysis) — so while research investment is welcomed, the near-term loss of fee revenue and campus diversity from fewer international students is a major concern. (University Affairs)

NGOs / civil society

  • Refugee and migrant advocacy groups are highly critical: NGOs (including Migrant Rights Network and the Canadian Council for Refugees) flag sharp cuts to refugee resettlement slots (e.g., big reductions in privately sponsored and government-assisted refugee allocations for 2026) and warn of humanitarian consequences. They also criticise proposed changes that would increase costs/limits on refugee healthcare supports. (Migrant Rights Network)
  • NGOs frame the budget as reversing prior resettlement commitments and argue the cuts are out of step with global resettlement needs; several are calling for immediate policy reversals or mitigations. (Canadian Council for Refugees)

Key numbers & facts (short)

  • Government/ Budget document: says temporary foreign worker arrivals have already fallen ~50% this year and international student arrivals roughly 60% lower so far in 2025; asylum claims down ~1/3. (Government emphasizes “restoring control” / “sustainable levels”.) (Budget Canada)
  • Industry claim (Restaurants Canada): temporary resident admissions projected to fall from ~673,650 in 2025 to ~370,000 by 2027 (sector-level alarm). (Restaurants Canada)
  • NGOs: significant cuts in refugee streams (e.g., privately sponsored refugees from 23,000 in 2025 → 16,000 in 2026; government-assisted refugees reduced to ~13,250 in 2026 in some NGO tallies). (Canadian Council for Refugees)

Overall read / implications

  • Short term: a mix of political kudos for addressing housing/service pressures and immediate pushback from business, post-secondary institutions, and refugee advocates about labour, revenue and humanitarian impacts. (Global News)
  • Medium term risk: continued sectoral labour shortfalls, reduced international-education revenues for campuses and communities, and reputational/humanitarian questions from refugee/NGO communities unless mitigations are introduced. (HCAMag)

Which do you want next?

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Jamie Sarkonak: Carney’s budget is more subtle on wokeness, but the agenda is still strong

2025/11/06 Leave a comment

Noting the change but discounting the extent:

Tuesday’s budget wasn’t like those of the high Trudeau years, encrusted with identity politics at every turn. But the spirit of the old regime lives on under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has opted for a deficit of $78.3 billion along with the continuation of social justice programs and diversity mandates.

This year, one-time “investments” are numerous. The federal anti-racism secretariat — the entity that spurred a government-wide clampdown on forced diversity and hiring quotas in Ottawa in 2021, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement — is getting $2 million in 2025-26, and nothing else after that. The Canadian Heritage program for DEI in sport is getting $8 million in 2025-26, and, again, nothing afterwards.

Even better, the Liberals are spending $28 million over the next two years on Canadian Heritage’s Digital Citizen Initiative, which has been around for years now. It could arguably be called a propaganda program, as it essentially involves funding government-aligned influencers to dispel “disinformation” and researchers to track “anti-Liberal” media, among other things. This budget claims that the funding tap will shut off in 2027 … but we’ll see about that.

The National Film Board, which restricts non-Indigenous individuals from using archive footage for commercial purposes, is getting a $4 million bonus next year. Federal museums, which have been slammed with diversity mandates in the Liberal era, will get $12 million.

Identity-based business funding is back, as well. The federal women’s entrepreneurship program is supposed to get $39 million next year, with nothing to come after. Black entrepreneurs, meanwhile, were told in September that they were getting another $189 million over the next five years for race-based business funding (this wasn’t written into the budget documents, however).

How many of these programs will actually end in a year or two, it’s hard to say. It’s easy for the government change its mind next budget season — better, even, because doing this helps keep the projected deficit lower….

Perhaps most disappointing of all is the continued existence of Women and Gender Equality Canada, which will be getting $500 million over the years 2026 to 2030. The department exists to funnel government money to Liberal-aligned social justice organizations and create new crises relating to menstruation, among other things, and really doesn’t have a point in an age where gender equality has largely been achieved.

Regardless of any spending cuts, the core philosophy of the Liberal government has remained the same since 2015: spend on the mosaic model of culture; prioritize supports on the basis of identity and privilege. Under Carney, it’s no different.

Source: Jamie Sarkonak: Carney’s budget is more subtle on wokeness, but the agenda is still strong

Filed under DEI, gender, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,