( Spanish) –– When Statistics Canada revised its methodology for counting temporary migrants in 2023, it recorded a notable jump: there were almost twice as many as were counted in 2021, a difference of one million people.
This, coupled with the pressure and criticism faced by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government for its open immigration policy and the economic and working conditions following the pandemic, prompted the authorities to announce a historic change in March: for the first time, the number of temporary residents will be limited, a category that includes foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers, as well as their families.
“We must ensure that the number of temporary residents entering the country is at a sustainable level,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Minister Marc Miller told reporters when announcing the changes, after years of an “open door” policy.
While the minister stressed that migration “enriches the economic, social and cultural fabric” of Canada, he noted that the labour market is recovering and that employers no longer have the difficulties they faced in recent years in recruiting workers.
Miller added that nearly 300,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada because of the Russian war, adding to the pressures of a historic number of refugees in the country.
Currently, the temporary migrant population represents 6.2% of the 40 million inhabitants, but the government intends to reduce it to 5% in the next three years. This implies a 20% reduction of the 2.6 million registered temporary residents by the end of 2023.
Until now, the government has set annual targets or limits for permanent residents, but this is the first time it will set a ceiling to reduce the number of temporary residents.
In 2023, Canada granted visas to approximately 471,771 new permanent residents and 804,901 non-permanent residents. These figureshigher than in previous years, led to the largest population increase in Canada on record, 3.2%, one of the highest rates in the world. According to the government report, if the rate did not include temporary workers and only took into account the natural rhythm ––births and deaths–– and permanent immigrants, the rate would have been 1.2%.
Although the first limits will be set in September in coordination between provincial and federal authorities, the Government had already announced some measures in recent months.
In January, Miller announced a reduction in visas for international students for the next two years. By 2024, the reduction is 35%, which means the limit will be close to 360,000 permits, which will be distributed proportionally among the provinces and territories, according to the current number of students.
The number of visas to be approved in 2025 will be determined at a later date, depending on what happens in the coming months under the new approach.
According to the authorities, the new limit will not affect students who need to renew their study permits.
For his part, the Minister of Labor, Randy Boissonnault, He said at the conference The press service reported that companies that participated in the “Workforce Solutions Road” program, implemented in 2022, must reduce the number of employees they hire through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program from 30% to 20% starting May 1.
The only two sectors that will be exempt from the change will be health and construction, subject to further evaluation, at least until the end of August.
Minister Boissonnault urged companies to consider asylum seekers with work permits before requesting permits for temporary migrants.
Being a nation historically characterized by the presence of migrants and after eight years of receptive immigration policies, the announcement was received with several criticisms, but the pressures were also continuous.
In the health sector, there is a shortage of medical personnel in some regions, according to The Conversation. Even the House of Commons of Canada acknowledged the deficit in a 2023 report. For its part, a report The January 2017 issue of financial services chain Desjardins calls for not slowing down the arrival of immigrants, but warns that keeping the number of visas granted high “could further strain provincial finances and housing affordability.”
In this sense, average rental prices for homes rose by 30% since 2021, when they had fallen due to the pandemic, according to the report rentals.ca and Urbanation Inc, a situation that is often blamed on migrants.
Following the government’s announcement, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change told that they are awaiting further details on the measure, which could be announced when the next budget is presented in mid-April. “There is a rise in racism and migrants are being used as a scapegoat for the housing and affordability crisis. It’s not a question of numbers, but of rights, of working conditions,” said Syed Hussan, executive director of the NGO.
Restaurants Canada, an association of businesses in the sector, meanwhile, rejected the announcement about temporary workers. “It will make it even more difficult to fill the current 100,000 vacancies in the restaurant sector and create more bureaucracy,” it said in a statement. a statement Kelly Higginson, CEO of the employers’ association.
Announcing the cap in March, Minister Miller said the cap on temporary migrants would “help strengthen the alignment between immigration planning, community capacity and labour market needs,” and said the government was seeking to achieve “predictable population growth.”
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