Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that his government made "mistakes" in its immigration policy which led to "bad actors" like "fake colleges" and big corporations exploiting the system for their vested interests. Trudeau's statement on Sunday came amidst his Liberal Party's denting popularity ahead of the 2025 general election in Canada. The prime minister is facing intense public criticism due to his policies leading to housing shortage, inflation, and deteriorating health and transport systems in the country. The opposition Conservative Party has also been accusing his government of mismanagement and failure to prioritise Canadian citizens' needs.
In a video message posted on his YouTube channel, Trudeau said, "In the last two years, our population has grown really fast, like a baby boom...Increasingly bad actors like fake colleges and big chain corporations have been exploiting our immigration system for their own interests." To address this, he announced a reduction in the number of immigrants coming to Canada over the next three years.Trudeau noted that after the pandemic, Canada's economy rebounded quickly, leading to a significant demand for workers. "We wanted more workers fast. We were in the midst of a huge labour shortage. Temporary foreign workers became such a significant part of our workforce...So, we brought in more workers," he said, adding that it was the right decision and it worked. "Our economy grew. Restaurants and stores reopened, businesses kept running, but most importantly, in spite of lots of economists’ predictions, we avoided the worst-case scenario -- a recession,” he said.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller outlined the government's revised immigration strategy last month, indicating that Canada will admit about 3,95,000 permanent residents in 2025, a decrease of nearly 20 per cent from the 4,85,000 expected this year. The plan also targets temporary immigrants, including international students and foreign workers, whose numbers are set to drop to about 4,46,000 in 2025 and 2026, down from around 8,00,000 this year. By 2027, Canada will accept only 17,400 new non-permanent residents, according to the new policy.
Canada has also ended the popular SDS fast track study visa programme, a significant policy shift likely to affect many international students, including those from India. India is the largest source of foreign students in Canada, with an estimated 4,27,000 Indian students currently studying there. Trudeau mentioned that for years, the focus was on Permanent Immigration, where people come with family to settle, while the temporary immigration pathway, involving international students and temporary workers, was overlooked.
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