Canada’s liberal government has decided to maintain its current immigrationtargets for the next two years. This decision comes amidst the country’sstruggle with high inflation and a housing crisis. The government intendsto halt the increase in immigration starting from 2026.
In more specific terms, Canada’s immigration plan includes targeting465,000 new residents for the current year, followed by 485,000 in 2024,and reaching a goal of 500,000 in 2025. This 500,000 level is what theyplan to sustain in 2026, according to Immigration Minister Marc Miller’sstatement in Ottawa. The rationale behind these immigration levels is tostrike a balance between economic and population growth while mitigatingthe strain on critical systems such as infrastructure and housing.
The Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) has expressed its view that the temporarypause in increasing immigration levels is a suitable response to thehousing challenges and declining public support. However, the bankemphasizes that Canada will still require immigrants in the long term.
According to their report, the current annual intake of immigrants, whichamounts to 1.3% of the population, is insufficient to stabilize the agestructure of the population. To achieve this, they argue that immigrationat a rate of about 2.1% is needed.
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It’s worth noting that Canada’s population growth has largely been drivenby immigration, and this growth has played a vital role in fueling economicexpansion in recent years.