Federal government aiming to shrink temporary residents' share of population by 2027
CBC
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Thursday the federal government is looking to shrink temporary residents' share of Canada's population over the next three years.
Miller said temporary residents made up 6.2 per cent of Canada's population in 2023 and the government is working to reduce that share to 5 per cent by 2027. That would mean a decrease in the temporary resident population of roughly 19 per cent, he said.
"This is not a historical low, driving it down by 19 per cent, but it is something that has to be done well," he said.
"It's a reasonable goal, I think it's relatively ambitious, but its something we have to crystallize over the next three years."
Ottawa will for the first time include temporary residents in its annual immigration levels plan, which is expected to be released in the fall.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will be conducting a review of the government's temporary work permit programs in an effort to "better align with labour market needs," Miller said.
The government announced a two-year cap on international student permits in January.
Miller said that the cap on international students will contribute to the 5 per cent target.
"We are just now starting to get some control over the student category, which is a very large part of that," he said.
Miller said he will convene a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts in May to discuss the five per cent reduction target.
In December, Statistics Canada said the country's population grew by more than 430,000 during the third quarter of 2023, marking the fastest pace of population growth in any quarter since 1957.
That rise was fuelled by international migration, including about 313,000 non-permanent residents who came to the country from July to September.
StatsCan says those non-permanent residents were mostly people who held work and study permits, and to a lesser extent refugee claimants.
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