Fewer temporary residents by 2027

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Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller

< li class="mt-2 flex first:mt-0">Stéphane Bordeleau (View profile)Stéphane Bordeleau

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The federal government wants to reduce the proportion of temporary residents in the Canadian population from 6.2 to 5% by 2027, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Thursday.

Canada has seen a sharp increase in the number of temporary residents arriving each year, and the minister has indicated in the past that the country has become addicted to temporary workers.

The number of temporary residents and workers in Canada today reaches 2.5 million people, or 6.2% of the country's population.

Recognizing from the outset that Canada's future economic vitality depends on the people we welcome today, Minister Marc Miller explained that the country must deal with significant population movements around the world.

Climate change, economic and political upheaval, human rights violations and of course wars are just some of the reasons why millions of people are looking for a better place to live. .

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Motion condemning Michaud: “I live well with my vote,” says François Legault -sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV”>For example, by the end of March, nearly 300,000 Ukrainians will have found refuge in Canada since Russia invaded their country two years ago.Open in full screen mode

Asylum seekers are intercepted by border authorities at the illegal entry point on Roxham Road between Quebec and New York State.

Considering that all temporary residents and workers who settle in Canada need care, services, housing, various assistance and education, the pressure promises to be enormous on the Canadian social system.

We cannot ignore the pressures created by the historic volumes of asylum seekers arriving in Canada, said Marc Miller. It is essential to have a sufficiently resourced system to efficiently and fairly process asylum applications and manage temporary resident volumes.

If many temporary foreign workers are needed in critical sectors of our economy […] changes are needed to make the system more efficient and more sustainable.

A quote from Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration

In fact, Ottawa has already started to turn off the tap by imposing a two-year stay limit on new international students, restricting eligibility for permits postgraduate work permits and work permits for student spouses and establishing a partial visa requirement for Mexican travelers.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship also ordered a review of the programs that welcome temporary residents to the country in order to better align them with labor needs and at the same time eliminate abuses in the system.

It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to reduce the proportion of temporary residents in the Canadian population to 5% by 2027 .

Marc Miller, however, does not intend to work unilaterally on this issue. He explained that he plans to convene his provincial and territorial counterparts in May to discuss how to proceed to achieve these objectives.

The first reduction targets will be announced in the fall, after consultation with the provinces and territories.

In Quebec, the reactions were quick. Stressing that recognition of the problem by Ottawa is a first step, Quebec Minister of Immigration, Christine Fréchette, reminded the federal government that Quebec's reception capacity has reached its limit and that government services are under too much pressure.

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Quebec Minister of Immigration, Christine Fréchette

Mr. Trudeau expressed several openings last week during his meeting with Mr. Legault, particularly regarding Quebec's selection of temporary workers. We will follow up closely. The federal government must act in collaboration with us.

As for the spring meeting with the provinces mentioned by Minister Miller, Ms. Fréchette added we will analyze everything when we have more details.

With information from The Canadian Press

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