New immigration plan aims to stabilize population growth, housing market: minister

The federal government's new immigration levels plan will stabilize population growth and relieve pressure on the housing market, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Thursday.

As CBC News reported Wednesday, the government is cutting the projected number of new permanent residents from 485,000 this year to 395,000 in 2025, with further cuts to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

Under the previous plan released last November, Canada was expected to admit about 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.

"We have a lot of challenges in this area," Miller told a press conference Thursday.

"But today with this plan, we're proposing a managed migration that … will contribute to a positive future for all Canadians and one where we can serve both Canadians and immigrants better."

In March, Statistics Canada reported that the population grew faster in 2023 than it has at any time since the 1950s.

Across Canada, the population rose by about 1.3 million between Jan. 1, 2023 and Jan. 1, 2024. Statistics Canada says 97.6 per cent of that population growth was the result of immigration, with just under 472,000 immigrants settling in the country last year and the number of temporary residents — most of whom are foreign workers — rising by around 805,000.

The new immigration levels plan will cause a 0.2 per cent population decline over the next two years, a government press release said. It said the plan will also "reduce the housing supply gap by approximately 670,000 units" over the next few years.

"That means we will not have to build an additional 670,000 housing units by [2027]," Miller said.

Under the new plan, more than 40 per cent of new permanent residents next year will be drawn from the pool of temporary residents already living in Canada.

"These people are a young labour pool. They're skilled, they're here, they've begun their process of integration and it doesn't place additional demands on housing, health care and social services," Miller said.

The plan also emphasizes bringing in more skilled workers. It draws more than 62 per cent of new permanent residents from the economic stream, especially the health sector and the trades.

Recent polls have shown that Canadians' attitudes toward immigration have soured. An Abacus survey released last week found that more than half of respondents held a negative view of the immigration system.

When asked about the rise in negative views in immigration, Miller said it's easy to blame immigration for societal challenges but it "doesn't make sense."