François Legault gonfle les chiffres sur les faux demandeurs d’asile

2025/11/15 Leave a comment

Quelle surprise:

Pour justifier ses politiques, le premier ministre François Legault a répété jeudi que la moitié des demandeurs d’asile réclamaient le statut de réfugié sous de faux motifs, alors que des données officielles récentes démontrent plutôt que de 22 % à 39 % des dossiers sont rejetés pour cette raison.

« On sait de façon historique que la moitié ne sont pas de vrais demandeurs d’asile », a dit M. Legault lors de la période de questions à l’Assemblée nationale.

Le premier ministre répondait alors à une question de la co-porte-parole de Québec solidaire, Ruba Ghazal, sur le manque de ressources pour les itinérants. « Il y a plusieurs causes à la crise de l’itinérance qu’on vit actuellement », a-t-il répondu avant d’évoquer les problèmes de santé mentale, la crise du logement et l’afflux de demandeurs d’asile.

« On en a fait beaucoup, mais la demande explose », a-t-il dit, avant d’affirmer que « la moitié des demandeurs d’asile ne sont pas de vrais demandeurs d’asile ».

Plus prudent, son ministre de l’Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, avait soutenu en matinée que « de 40 % à 50 % […] ne sont pas de réels demandeurs d’asile »….

Source: François Legault gonfle les chiffres sur les faux demandeurs d’asile

To justify his policies, Prime Minister François Legault repeated on Thursday that half of asylum seekers were claiming refugee status on false grounds, while recent official data show rather that 22% to 39% of applications are rejected for this reason.

“We know historically that half are not real asylum seekers,” said Mr. Legault during the question period in the National Assembly.

The Prime Minister was then answering a question from Québec solidaire’s co-spokeswoman, Ruba Ghazal, on the lack of resources for itinerants. “There are several causes for the homelessness crisis we are currently experiencing,” he replied before mentioning mental health problems, the housing crisis and the influx of asylum seekers.

“We have done a lot, but demand is exploding,” he said, before saying that “half of asylum seekers are not real asylum seekers.”

More cautious, his Minister of Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, had maintained in the morning that “40% to 50% […] are not real asylum seekers”….

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Les nouvelles cibles d’immigration de Québec alimentent les critiques

2025/11/10 Leave a comment

Expected reactions:

Même s’il s’agit du plus généreux des trois scénarios, admettre 45 000 permanents au Québec est « très mauvaise nouvelle » voire une « tragédie » pour les élus de l’opposition, des représentants d’organismes et des gens d’affaire. Avec les nouvelles cibles de Québec, l’obtention d’une résidence permanente pourrait mettre plus de trois décennies dans certaines catégories d’immigration.

« J’ai fait le calcul, on va passer à 36 ans de délais de traitement entre les arriérés et la cible du ministre. Dans la catégorie des réfugiés reconnus, on passe à 12 ans de délais de traitement avec son nouveau plan. Ça n’a aucun sens, c’est complètement déconnecté », a déclaré le député de Québec solidaire, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard.

Le député libéral de l’Acadie André A. Morin a pour sa part dit trouver « inhumain » les longs délais, notamment pour la réunification familiale. Ceux-ci pourraient être de 4 ans au minimum, puisque l’inventaire est de 42 000 dossiers et que le plan de Québec propose d’en admettre 10 000 par année. « Avec ces seuils [de 45 000] on évite la catastrophe, mais on est loin d’être sortis de l’auberge », a-t-il soutenu. « Le gouvernement n’a pas écouté, il a fait fausse route. »

La Table de concertation des organismes au service des réfugiés et immigrants (TCRI) croit pour sa part que les délais de la nouvelle planification pluriannuelle 2026-2029 qui vient d’être rendue publique par le gouvernement est une « tragédie » sur le plan des délais. « C’est complètement inacceptable. Ce n’est pas [avec de tels délais] que les personnes vont s’intégrer et mener une vie normale. On parle de milliers de personnes qui vont attendre. Ça aura un impact sociétal d’avoir autant de gens dans des statuts précaires », a dit son directeur Stephan Reichhold.

Dans l’opposition, seul le Parti québécois a exprimé une vue contraire, indiquant qu’il fallait plutôt diminuer les cibles d’immigration permanente à 35 000. Le député péquiste d’Arthabaska, Alex Boissonneault, n’est pas d’avis que son scénario pourrait mettre à mal l’économie dans les régions. « L’immigration ne règle pas la pénurie de main-d’œuvre. C’est la même chose pour les entreprises en région et même, souvent, ça peut exacerber le problème parce que ces gens-là qui viennent en grand nombre avec leurs conjoints, leurs conjointes, avec les enfants, vont consommer aussi des biens et des services », a-t-il dit….

Source: Les nouvelles cibles d’immigration de Québec alimentent les critiques

Even if this is the most generous of the three scenarios, admitting 45,000 permanent employees in Quebec is “very bad news” or even “tragic” for opposition elected officials, representatives of organizations and business people. With Quebec City’s new targets, obtaining permanent residence could take more than three decades in certain immigration categories.
“I did the math, we will go to 36 years of processing time between the arrears and the minister’s target. In the category of recognized refugees, it goes to 12 years of processing time with its new plan. It doesn’t make any sense, it’s completely disconnected, “said Québec solidaire MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard.
The Liberal MP of Acadie André A. Morin, for his part, said he found long delays “inhumane”, especially for family reunification. These could be at least 4 years, since the inventory is 42,000 files and the Quebec City plan proposes to admit 10,000 per year. “With these thresholds [of 45,000] we avoid disaster, but we are far from being out of the hostel,” he said. “The government didn’t listen, it went the wrong way. ”
The Consultation Table of Organizations for Refugees and Immigrants (TCRI) believes for its part that the deadlines of the new multi-year planning 2026-2029 that has just been made public by the government are a “tragedy” in terms of deadlines. “This is completely unacceptable. It is not [with such delays] that people will integrate and lead a normal life. We are talking about thousands of people who will wait. It will have a societal impact to have so many people in precarious statuses, “said its director Stephan Reichhold.
In the opposition, only the Parti Québécois expressed a contrary view, indicating that it was better to reduce the permanent immigration targets to 35,000. The Péquista MP for Arthabaska, Alex Boissonneault, is not of the opinion that his scenario could damage the economy in the regions. “Immigration does not solve the labor shortage. It’s the same for companies in the region and even, often, it can exacerbate the problem because these people who come in large numbers with their spouses, their spouses, with children, will also consume goods and services,” he said….

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Québec prévoit accueillir 45 000 immigrants permanents par année

2025/11/07 Leave a comment

Greater relative restraint compared to federal government, along with tighter language requirements and ending the transition from temporary to permanent resident transition program:

Le ministre de l’Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, a déposé jeudi la Planification de l’immigration 2026-2029. Il avait procédé plus tôt cet automne à des consultations publiques à ce sujet. M. Roberge a finalement opté pour la cible d’immigration à l’étude la plus élevée, à 45 000, alors que les autres scénarios prévoyaient des seuils de 25 000 ou de 35 000 immigrants par année.

Concernant l’immigration permanente, c’est-à-dire l’immigration économique, les regroupements familiaux et les réfugiés, le gouvernement caquiste prévoit admettre entre 43 000 et 47 000 immigrants dès 2026, comparativement aux 57 210 à 61 220 personnes qui auront été admises en 2025 selon les prévisions du ministère.

Pour protéger le français, Québec vise désormais « une proportion de plus de 77 % de connaissance du français chez les personnes issues de l’immigration permanente ». Il est aussi prévu « d’accroître la part des personnes issues de l’immigration permanente déjà présentes au Québec pour que celle-ci représentent 65 % ou plus des admissions à la fin de la période ». Le gouvernement veut par ailleurs que l’immigration économique représente 64 % de l’ensemble des admissions permanentes.

Dans tous les cas, Québec prévient qu’il « pourra ajuster les seuils d’immigration permanente avant la fin de la présente planification pluriannuelle » en fonction du nombre d’immigrants temporaires admis par le fédéral et de la situation économique.

Immigration temporaire

En matière d’immigration temporaire, il est prévu de réduire le nombre de résidents non permanents « en visant à terme un nombre maximal de 65 000 titulaires de permis dans le Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET), 110 000 titulaires de permis dans le Programme des étudiants étrangers (PÉE), ce qui représente une réduction globale de 13 % par rapport à 2024 ».

Les travailleurs étrangers temporaires « qui ont séjourné plus de trois ans au Québec de façon continue ou cumulative » devront à l’avenir démontrer une certaine connaissance du français oral.

« Des exemptions sont prévues pour les [travailleurs] agricoles, en raison de leur contribution active à la sécurité alimentaire, les ressortissants étrangers occupant un emploi pour le compte d’un bureau d’une division politique d’un État étranger […] et les employés des organisations internationales non gouvernementales reconnues par le Québec, car celles-ci bénéficient de certaines exemptions aux obligations de la Charte de la langue française », explique le gouvernement.

Autrement, « les vérifications de la connaissance du français débuteront le 17 décembre 2028 ».

La fin du PEQ

Autre importante décision du gouvernement Legault : le populaire Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), qui a été suspendu en octobre 2024, est officiellement aboli. La forte popularité du programme, pour lequel les admissions étaient en continu et sans plafond, faisait en sorte que les cibles d’immigration du gouvernement étaient dépassées. La voie rapide pour obtenir la résidence permanente devient désormais le Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ).

Par contre, « toutes les demandes présentées avant la fin [du PEQ] seront traitées […] et le ministère continuera de recevoir et de traiter les demandes » jusqu’au 19 novembre prochain.

« Avec la réduction des seuils d’admission et la nécessité de renforcer l’efficacité de l’État, la coexistence de plusieurs programmes destinés aux travailleurs qualifiés n’est plus pertinente », justifie Québec.

Le gouvernement prolonge également jusqu’au 31 décembre 2026 la suspension de certaines demandes au Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET) pour les régions de Montréal et de Laval seulement. Québec affirme vouloir ainsi « freiner l’augmentation du nombre de résidents non permanents [RNP] dans les deux régions où le bassin de main-d’œuvre disponible est plus important, tout comme les défis reliés à la pérennité du français »….

Source: Québec prévoit accueillir 45 000 immigrants permanents par année

La Presse take on federal plan:

Est-ce un changement de philosophie ?

Oui. Le Canada passe d’une logique de croissance démographique rapide à une approche de croissance maîtrisée et sélective. Le discours du budget lie désormais immigration, productivité, souveraineté économique et sécurité nationale. « C’était une erreur de monter à 500 000 immigrants permanents au cours des deux dernières années. C’est ce qui a créé une certaine déstabilisation », explique Me Patrice Brunet, qui se spécialise dans l’immigration.

Qu’en est-il de l’immigration francophone hors Québec ?

Ottawa fixe une cible de 10,5 % de résidents permanents francophones établis à l’extérieur du Québec d’ici 2028, contre 9 % en 2026. Le gouvernement mise sur un recrutement accru dans les pays d’Afrique francophone et sur l’élargissement des services d’accueil et d’intégration en français.

Source: Ottawa entreprend un virage majeur

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Rempel Garner: For youth, AI is making immigration cuts even more urgent.

2025/07/24 Leave a comment

Will be interesting to see if the annual levels plans makes any reference to expected impacts of AI. Valid concerns and need for further thinking about appropriate policy responses, shorter and longer-term:

…So at writing, the only consensus on what skills will make someone employable in a five to ten year period, particularly in white collar jobs, are advanced critical thinking and problem solving ability acquired through decades of senior level managerial and product creation experience. So the question for anyone without those skills – read, youth – is, how can someone acquire those skills if AI is taking away entry level research and writing jobs? And how can they do that while competing with hundreds of thousands of non-permanent foreign workers?

While many parts of that question may remain without clear answers (e.g. whether current public investments in existing modalities of education make sense), there are some that are much more obvious. Where Canadian employers do have a need for entry level labour, those jobs should not be filled by non-Canadians unless under extremely exceptional circumstances, so that Canadian youth can gain skills needed to survive in a labour market where they’re competing against AI for work.

And translating that principle into action means that the Liberal government must (contrary to Coyne’s column) immediately and massively curtail the allowance of temporary foreign labour to continue to suppress Canadian wages and remove opportunity from Canadian youth. It’s clear that they haven’t given the topic much thought. Even their most recent Liberal platform only focused on reskilling mid-career workers, not the fact that AI will likely stymie new entrants to the labour market from ever getting to the mid-career point to begin with. While older Liberals may be assuming that the kids will be alright because they grew up with technology, data suggests AI will disrupt the labour market faster and more profoundly than even offshoring manufacturing did. Given that context, immediately weaning Canadian businesses off their over-reliance on cheap foreign labour seems like a no brainer.

But on that front, Canada’s federal immigration policy, particularly its annual intake targets, fails to account for the anticipated labor market disruptions driven by artificial intelligence. This oversight may have arisen because many of those setting these targets have had the luxury of honing their skills over decades in an economic landscape where life was far more affordable than it is today. Or, because it’s easier to listen to the spin from lobbyists who argue that they have the right to cheap foreign labour than to the concerns of millions of jobless Canadian youth. Nevertheless, the strategy of allowing Canadian youth to languish in this hyper-rapidly evolving and disruptive job market, while admitting hundreds of thousands of temporary low-skilled workers and issuing work permits to an equal number of bogus asylum claimants, demands an urgent and profound rethink.

Indifference to this issue, at best, will likely suppress wages and opportunities as the economy transitions to an AI integrated modality. At worst, it may bring widespread AI precipitated hyper-unemployment to an already unaffordable country, and all the negative social impacts associated with the same: debt, crime, and despair.

So the Liberals can either immediately push their absurdly wide open immigration gates to a much more closed position while they grapple with this labour market disruption out on behalf of Canadians, or pray that Canadians forgive them for failing to do so.

Source: For youth, AI is making immigration cuts even more urgent.

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Poilievre says Canada needs ‘more people leaving than coming’

2025/07/16 Leave a comment

Of note:

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says for the next couple of years “we need more people leaving than coming” into Canada.

On Monday, Poilievre was asked by Global News to clarify his June comments calling for “severe limits on population growth.

“In order to fix the problem we’ve got to put very hard caps on immigration levels. We need more people leaving than coming for the next couple of years,” said Poilievre at a news conference in Ottawa. “So our country can actually catch up.”

 Poilievre said this move could help housing, health care and jobs “catch up,” but he did not elaborate on how he would ensure more people leave the country.

“We’ve had population growth of roughly a million a year under the Liberals while we barely built 200,000 homes. Our job market is stalled and yet we are adding more people to the workforce,” said Poilievre.

“Our young people are facing generational highs in unemployment because the jobs are, multinational corporations are giving jobs to low wage temporary foreign workers.”…

Source: Poilievre says Canada needs ‘more people leaving than coming’

And the Globe editorial commenting on his remarks:

…Mr. Poilievre would take a different approach by applying a “hard rule” in which population intake does not exceed the growth in the housing stock, the job market and the availability of doctors.

There is merit to that approach, although the emphasis should be on using permanent residency as a tool to ease shortages of specific skills, such as doctors. The focus of any effort to reduce the weight of migration on housing and social services should be squarely on temporary residents. 

Re-establishing public confidence in the immigration system means restricting temporary foreign workers to areas where there simply aren’t Canadians able and willing to take a job, such as in the agriculture sector. Permits for other businesses should, for the most part, be denied. If those firms cannot operate without the subsidy of indentured labour, then they do not have a viable business model.

Federal and provincial governments must return the international student program to its former role of recruiting highly qualified students from around the world who will make excellent candidates to become permanent residents once they graduate. As this space has repeatedly argued, those students should be limited to on-campus work.

And the government must follow through on its proposals to end the abuses of the asylum system.

Mr. Poilievre’s proposed formula needs work, but the idea is at least a recognition that immigration targets in recent years have been arbitrary – and a big part of the reason that Canadians are losing faith in the system.

Source: Let’s focus on the right fix for immigration

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Bernhard: Canada’s most valuable import is talent – we need more of it

2025/07/14 Leave a comment

Not the more, but the who:

…A confident Canada would stop dwelling on arbitrary immigration targets and instead recruit people who have solved the very challenges we’re currently stuck on, in whatever numbers are required. Fundamentally, we have a mindset problem. We’re stuck in the antiquated paradigm where hardscrabble immigrants arrive with $5 in their pockets and build good lives upon hard work and Canadian generosity. In this paradigm, immigration is a favour we do for immigrants. 

But today’s truth is that immigration is one of Canada’s top three talent development pathways, alongside our education system and our innovation industries. We often fault immigrants for lacking Canadian experience, while ironically overlooking the pre-Canadian experience they have in solving the precise problems we face.

Canada is a great country, but we face many serious challenges. Talented people around the world have solved our problems – only they’ve done it elsewhere. They know how to do what we don’t. We can build a strong, sovereign Canada by recruiting them to play for our team. 

Source: Canada’s most valuable import is talent – we need more of it

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Québec révise ses critères de résidence permanente pour les immigrants économiques

2025/07/07 Leave a comment

A noter:

Il est de nouveau possible, depuis cette semaine, d’emprunter une des principales voies d’accès vers l’immigration permanente au Québec. Et le gouvernement Legault a fixé de nouveaux critères de sélection mercredi.

Comme annoncé le mois dernier par le ministre de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec, Jean-François Roberge, le Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés du Québec (PSTQ) est rouvert. Dès ce mois-ci, Québec transmettra de nouveau des invitations à présenter une demande de sélection permanente par le biais de ce canal, la principale porte d’entrée pour l’immigration économique au Québec.

Suspendu depuis l’automne dernier, le PSTQ a été revu de fond en comble par le ministre Roberge le printemps dernier. Il en a publié les critères et le système de pointage dans la Gazette officielle du Québec mercredi.

Les travailleurs déjà installés avantagés

Comme il l’avait affirmé précédemment, le gouvernement priorisera les profils d’immigrants déjà établis au Québec dans sa sélection des futurs résidents permanents québécois. Une personne qui a travaillé plus de 48 mois au Québec obtiendra 160 points, le maximum atteignable, alors qu’une personne qui travaille en territoire québécois depuis moins d’un an n’en obtiendra aucun.

Auparavant, un immigrant commençait à accumuler des points après six mois de travail en territoire québécois. Le total maximal de points, accordé à ceux qui avaient occupé un emploi au Québec sur une durée d’au moins quatre ans, était de 100.

Avec ce nouveau système, le gouvernement de François Legault souhaite favoriser l’accession au statut de résident permanent de davantage de travailleurs déjà installés au Québec.

Ceux qui parlent français et qui habitent à l’extérieur du territoire de la Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal auront aussi de meilleures chances d’être sélectionnés.

Un ressortissant étranger pourra en effet se voir accorder jusqu’à 200 points selon sa compréhension et sa production écrites et orales en français. S’il choisit d’immigrer avec un époux ou un conjoint de fait, ce dernier pourra contribuer au pointage, qui sera toutefois de 160 au maximum. Une compréhension du français de niveau 1 à 4, sur 12 paliers, ne produira aucun point.

Les personnes immigrantes ayant séjourné, travaillé ou étudié à l’extérieur de Montréal toucheront également des points supplémentaires, selon la durée de leur implication.

Comme c’était le cas auparavant, les personnes plus jeunes se verront récompensées avec un pointage plus élevé (100 points ou plus pour les moins de 33 ans). Celles qui ont un diplôme universitaire également, et d’autant plus s’il a été obtenu au Québec (200 points pour un diplôme universitaire québécois de troisième cycle).

Ni PEQ ni parrainage collectif

Toute personne souhaitant accéder à la résidence permanente par le biais du PSTQ doit déposer une « déclaration d’intérêt » à travers le système d’immigration Arrima. Une fois reçue, celle-ci est classée selon le système de pointage en vigueur.

À l’heure actuelle, le PSTQ est une des rares portes d’entrée accessibles vers l’immigration permanente.

Le Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), qui vise lui aussi à accélérer l’accession de diplômés et de travailleurs temporaires à un statut permanent, fait l’objet d’un moratoire. Il est donc impossible de déposer de nouvelles demandes. Même chose pour le programme de parrainage collectif.

Jean-François Roberge affirme que ces gels permettront « de respecter les cibles de sélection prévues au plan d’immigration du Québec pour 2025 ».

Après avoir accueilli autour de 67 000 immigrants permanents en 2025 (soit le seuil attendu), le gouvernement souhaite réduire radicalement ses cibles en 2026. Cet automne, il soumettra à la consultation des scénarios de cibles à 25 000, 35 000 et 45 000 nouveaux arrivants permanents.

Source: Québec révise ses critères de résidence permanente pour les immigrants économiques

It is again possible, since this week, to use one of the main access routes to permanent immigration in Quebec. And the Legault government set new selection criteria on Wednesday.

As announced last month by Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Jean-François Roberge, the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (QPS) is reopening. Starting this month, Quebec will again send invitations to apply for permanent selection through this channel, the main gateway for economic immigration to Quebec.

Suspended since last fall, the PSTQ was thoroughly reviewed by Minister Roberge last spring. He published the criteria and the score system in the Gazette officielle du Québec on Wednesday.

Already installed workers at an advantage

As stated earlier, the government will prioritize immigrant profiles already established in Quebec in its selection of future Quebec permanent residents. A person who has worked more than 48 months in Quebec will get 160 points, the maximum attainable, while a person who has worked in Quebec territory for less than a year will not get any.

Previously, an immigrant began to accumulate points after six months of work in Quebec territory. The maximum total of points, granted to those who had held a job in Quebec for a period of at least four years, was 100.

With this new system, the government of François Legault wishes to promote the access to permanent resident status of more workers already settled in Quebec.

Those who speak French and who live outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal will also have a better chance of being selected.

A foreign national may indeed be awarded up to 200 points according to his written and oral understanding and production in French. If he chooses to immigrate with a spouse or common-law partner, the latter may contribute to the score, which will however be a maximum of 160. An understanding of French from level 1 to 4, on 12 levels, will not produce any points.

Immigrants who have stayed, worked or studied outside of Montreal will also receive additional points, depending on the duration of their involvement.

As was the case before, younger people will be rewarded with a higher score (100 points or more for those under 33). Those who also have a university degree, and even more so if it was obtained in Quebec (200 points for a Quebec postgraduate university degree).

Neither PEQ nor collective sponsorship

Anyone wishing to access permanent residence through the PSTQ must file a “declaration of interest” through the Arrima immigration system. Once received, it is classified according to the current pointing system.

Currently, the PSTQ is one of the few accessible gateways to permanent immigration.

The Quebec Experience Program (QEP), which also aims to accelerate the access of graduates and temporary workers to permanent status, is subject to a moratorium. It is therefore impossible to submit new applications. Same thing for the collective sponsorship program.

Jean-François Roberge says that these freezes will make it possible to “meet the selection targets set out in Quebec’s immigration plan for 2025”.

After welcoming around 67,000 permanent immigrants in 2025 (the expected threshold), the government wants to radically reduce its targets in 2026. This fall, it will submit target scenarios to 25,000, 35,000 and 45,000 permanent newcomers for consultation.

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‘We have to cap population growth’: Ten quotes from Pierre Poilievre’s EXCLUSIVE Hub interview 

2025/06/26 Leave a comment

As close as we are likely to get in terms of numbers and levels, although he and immigration critic Rempel-Garner will have to be more precise when the government levels plan comes out in November:

“We definitely have to cap population growth. I say population growth because in the immigration–emigration formula, there are two parts to it. There’s the number of people coming in and the number going out.

Natural population growth in Canada is basically zero, in fact, it was negative last quarter. When I say population growth, I’m really talking about immigration minus emigration. We have a lot of people who are supposed to be leaving in the next year or so. They are international students and temporary foreign workers on temporary visas that are going to run out. So we’re going to need more people to leave than to come for the next several years, and that means having negative population growth in that time period.”

Source: ‘We have to cap population growth’: Ten quotes from Pierre Poilievre’s EXCLUSIVE Hub interview

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Slim majority of Canadians found reduced immigration levels still too high: government polling

2025/06/19 Leave a comment

Not that surprising as echoes other public opinion research:

Shortly after cutting immigration levels, the federal immigration department heard through government-funded polling that a slight majority of Canadians still found this year’s number too high.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada commissioned the survey as part of its annual tracking of public sentiment towards immigration and reported it publicly as part of the government’s disclosures on its public opinion research.

The survey, which was done last November, followed the federal government’s announcement that it would reduce the number of permanent residents by nearly 100,000 in 2025. The target was set at 395,000, down from 485,000 in 2024.

The survey found that 54 per cent of Canadians said they “felt there are too many immigrants coming to Canada.” Another 34 per cent said they felt the number was fine, according to the report.

“When informed that Canada plans to admit 395,000 immigrants as permanent residents in 2025, 52 per cent said that it is too many, 37 per cent that this is about the right number and five per cent that this is too few,” it read.

“When informed that 395,000 immigrants is roughly 20 per cent fewer than Canada planned to admit in 2024, 44 per cent feel this is too many, 39 per cent that this number is about right and 13 per cent that it is too few.”

A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said in a statement that work has begun on setting immigration levels for the next two years, with that plan scheduled to be tabled in the fall, as it has in years past.

“(Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada) will continue work together with partners to establish the best paths forward to ensure that Canada is in position to attract the best talent in the world, while ensuring that overall immigration levels are more sustainable, and that the integrity of the system’s programs remain in tact,” wrote Renée LeBlanc Proctor, the minister’s press secretary. 

“We won’t speculate about specific future policy decisions at this time, but note that work on the 2026-2028 levels plan is already underway.”

Determining how many more permanent and temporary residents Canada will allow into the country has been challenged by changing public sentiments around immigration, connected to concerns regarding housing affordability, the availability of doctors and other social supports.

While federal officials say immigration accounted for nearly 98 per cent of Canada’s population growth in 2023, helping to offset an aging population and bringing the country’s population to 41 people million last year, housing experts, economists, and the Bank of Canada all warned that it has contributed to the country’s housing shortage.

Keith Neuman, senior associate at the Environics Institute, a non-profit that has been conducting public opinion research on attitudes around immigration for the past four decades, says Canadians’ perspectives have changed in terms of people thinking about how many immigrants the country could handle.

He says that represents a shift from what research has shown in the past, where Canadians previously focused on who immigrants were and where they were coming from.

“The capacity issue has never really been something that Canadians have thought about, up to this point. And so that’s where the real shift has happened,” he said in an interview.

“It is now become a public issue and a political issue.”…

Source: Slim majority of Canadians found reduced immigration levels still too high: government polling

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Poilievre calls for ‘severe limits’ on Canadian population growth

2025/06/12 Leave a comment

Without, of course, giving any numbers. At some point, both Poilievre and critic Rempel Garner need to provide some numbers to define what they mean by “severe”. Halving numbers back to the Harper government, less or more?

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the Canadian population has grown out of control and is calling on the Liberal government to further reduce immigration.

“We want severe limits on population growth to reverse the damage the Liberals did to our system,” Poilievre said during a press conference Tuesday in the foyer of the House of Commons.“The population has been growing out of control, our border has been left wide open. This has caused the free flow of drugs, illegal migration, human trafficking and much worse.”

Poilievre did not take followup questions from reporters on what he meant by “severe limits on population growth.”Global News has reached out to the Conservative Party of Canada for clarification but did not receive a response at the time of publication…

Source: Poilievre calls for ‘severe limits’ on Canadian population growth

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