Canada Announces Major Cuts to Immigration

Facts

• Canada announced on Thursday that it's making significant cuts to the number of immigrants it lets in — an effort the government said was aimed at halting population growth and taking pressure off housing stock and social services in the country.^[1]
• It comes after Canada's population grew by 3.2% from 2023 to 2024 — the biggest annual rise in the country since 1957, taking its population to 41M.^[2]
• That came after Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, increased the targets for the number of new permanent residents from 272K to 485K per year between 2015 and present day. That was, in part, an effort to revive the Canadian economy after the COVID pandemic.^[3]
• Under the new targets published by the government, it said it will reduce targets from 500K new permanent residents in 2025 and 2026 to 395K and 380K, respectively, while setting a new target of 365K in 2027.^[1]
• The country also recently introduced caps on international students and the number of temporary foreign workers.^[4]

Sources: ^[1]Government of Canada, ^[2]France 24, ^[3]BBC News and ^[4]Government of Canada reduces immigration.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by BBC News. Following the COVID pandemic, Canada loosened immigration rules to help get the economy going again but didn't get the balance quite right, putting too much strain on social services and available housing. Canada maintains its proud policies of welcoming immigrants but is reducing the flow to allow the government to catch up again.
• Right narrative, as provided by National Review and X. Trudeau's government broke the immigration system, leading to these strains in society that have severely damaged his standing in the polls. Desperate to stay in power, Trudeau announced these changes in the hopes it will reverse his unpopularity ahead of the election next year.

Predictions