Housing crunch prompts efforts to stabilize immigration levels, say federal ministers

OTTAWA Housing Minister Sean Fraser and Immigration Minister Marc Miller say the federal government is working to stabilize the number of people entering the country every year as housing pressures mount. The Canadian Press reported Thursday on internal documents from 2022 showing senior public servants had been warned a major increase in immigration could affect access to housing and services.

The federal government ultimately decided to increase the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes each year to 500,000 in 2025 — nearly double the amount from 2015. In a joint statement today, the Liberal ministers are defending the decision to boost immigration levels, noting the economy would have otherwise shrunk after the COVID 19 pandemic.

They say businesses facing labour shortages would have closed and that health care and other services would also have been affected. But they also say housing pressures have pushed the government to stabilize immigration levels, which includes temporary resident admissions as they reform the international students program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2024..