Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempts to mitigate public uproar over one of the most liberal immigration policies in the globe by reconfiguring his nation’s foreign worker plan. With polls indicating a disadvantage for his Liberal Party prior to next year’s elections, Trudeau disclosed plans to reduce the influx of new migrants.
Nevertheless, captains of industry express alarm over the likely limitations on their easy access to inexpensive workforce. Simranzeet Singh from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce argues for more dialogue, to prevent economic hazards or unintended damage to essential services due to the changes.
Trudeau previously embraced Canada’s welcoming attitude towards immigrants, particularly those fleeing war-torn nations like Syria and Ukraine. However, there’s been a noticeable shift in his stance. Trudeau wants Canada to stay favourable towards immigrants while being responsible in the integration process and fostering successful outcomes.
The foreign worker initiative has played a significant role in Canada’s recovery from the pandemic but has also faced criticism for escalating housing costs, putting strain on healthcare services and causing a spike in youth joblessness.
The leader of the Conservative party, Pierre Poilievre, pointed to Canada’s spiralling cost of living and sluggish economy as key themes of his election campaign. He even claimed Trudeau’s government had wreaked havoc on the immigration system, advocating for slower population growth.
Countries such as the UK and Germany are also tightening immigration control amidst public unrest due to a surge in foreign natives. Immigration has become a pivotal issue in the US elections too, with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris facing criticism for an uptick in immigrants crossing the Mexico-US border under the Biden administration.
Since the beginning of 2018, Canada has embraced approximately 1.63 million new citizens, with around one third hailing from India, the Philippines and China, as revealed by official figures. In 2021, the country’s migrant population represented almost a quarter – over 8.3 million people – of its complete population, as demonstrated in government statistics.
David Coletto, the head executive of Ottawa’s pollster company, Abacus Data, suggested that immigration was a key factor behind the 17-point lead that the opposition Conservatives had over Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberals in the polls. He stated, “According to our research, only a single person amongst four believe the nation is progressing.”
The Canadian populace reached its 40th million in the previous year, boosted by an increase of over one million people within just a year. A remarkable 96% of this population boost was due to transient as well as permanent immigration.
Based on a poll conducted by Abacus Data in November, two out of three Canadians felt that the immigration rate was “exceedingly high” and 31% deemed it as “extremely high”. In a March 2024 poll by Metropolis Institute and the Association for Canadian Studies, half of all Canadians surveyed expressed that there were an excessive number of immigrants.
Newly proposed measures by Trudeau include a decrease in the percentage of low-paying foreign temporary workers that can be employed by Canadian firms, from 20% to 10%. This shift overturns a previous 2022 policy which resulted in the increase of temporary foreign employees to near 3 million. More comprehensive modifications to immigration policy have been suggested by Trudeau for autumn.
Moreover, in January, the cap for international students for the year was set at 360,000 by Ottawa. Immigration minister, Marc Miller, stated that the growing number of foreign students had become so large that it had opened doors for its misuse by profit-orientated education institutes and aspiring students.
Michael Bonner, a ministerial consultant from the prior Conservative government, argued that businesses utilise the foreign worker arrangements to maintain low wages and affordable prices, describing this trend as “unacceptable”, as it makes it impossible for Canadians to compete in the job market. New regulations contain a special exception for agricultural producers, particularly those in distant areas where locally sourcing labour is challenging.
Dan Kelly, the chairman of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business – the largest business association in Canada, warned that labour shortages are predicted to worsen in several sectors including agriculture, caregiving and skilled trades, in addition to rural regions.
The criticisms directed towards foreign employees have been dismissed as baseless political accusations, with data revealing that up to 94% of companies relying on such a programme comply with safety measures, as stated. Increased emphasis, however, has been placed on the Canadian administration to monitor and control the influx of these labourers across its shared boundary with America, a situation that has been putting strain on the bilateral relations. Glenn Cowan, One9’s founder and CEO, a venture capital firm with a focus on security, has noted that the calls from US legislators to intensify border control with Canada is a response to worries over unlawful immigration from Canada, asserting that mitigating these visa issuances would strengthen US ties.