Canada will not cut immigration levels and plans to hold its target of annual newcomers steady at 500,00 people starting in 2026, according to plans tabled in Parliament by Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Wednesday.
The Immigration Levels Plan sets guidelines and targets for how many permanent residents Canada plans to welcome under economic, humanitarian and family reunification streams.
The latest plan maintains previously-set targets of welcoming 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024 and 500,000 new permanent residents for 2025. The number will stay at 500,000 in 2026 and “stabilize,” which Miller said is about “allowing time for successful integration” as well as “sustainable population growth.”
“These immigration levels allow us to bring in the skills and talent we need to fill the labour gaps and ensure Canada’s economic prosperity, help families reunite and remain a leader in refugee resettlement,” Miller told reporters in Ottawa after the plan was tabled.
The Environics survey suggests that 44 per cent of Canadians agree with the statement that “overall, there’s too much immigration to Canada” compared with 51 per cent who disagree.
This view of immigration marked a significant shift from the results last year, when only 27 per cent said there was too much immigration, and a record high of 69 per cent of people disagreed.
Miller said stabilizing immigration levels will allow governments to “take stock” and make sure labour shortages — particularly in construction — are addressed, along with housing and health-care needs for those new arrivals.
“What Canadians have been telling us, essentially, is to get our acts together — whether it’s the federal government, provincial governments or municipal governments — and be a little more coordinated in the way we welcome immigration in various categories,” he said.
“This has been a huge debate in Canada. The eyes of Canadians are more intensely focused on immigration. They’re not xenophobic, but they’re asking us to get a little more organized.”
Increasing the number of new permanent residents doesn’t create a direct proportional demand for housing, Miller said. The intention in stabilizing the target for 2026 is to take the time to understand what the actual impact is.
“We’re going to have to take the next year and dive into some of the more microeconomic forces that are driving the sentiment that Canadians are expressing to us,” he said.
Asked why the government isn’t stabilizing now at 485,000 annual arrivals instead of waiting until 2026 when the target is half a million, Miller said there is no “sufficient, fact-based evidence” that it would make a difference in a “very, very complex situation.”
“If you spread 15,000 people across the country, it’s really a rounding error,” he said.
Miller, when asked earlier in the week about whether he could consider slashing immigration targets amid a nationwide housing crisis, told reporters, “(It) doesn’t make sense to drop the numbers knowing what I know.”
“What I hear from industry is need for specialized workers. People clearly saying immigration needs to be more organized and structured,” he continued.
On Tuesday, Miller released the Strategic Immigration Review report in Ottawa, which said Canada’s immigration strategy over the next few years will be to focus on aligning immigration policy with the country’s labour needs.
The strategic review, which lays out a roadmap for Canada’s immigration strategy, said Canada needed to attract global talent across fields to fill its labour shortage. It outlined a need to “create the new role of a Chief International Talent Officer (CITO) to align Canada’s immigration policies with a long-term skills and labour strategy.”
The CITO will be responsible for assessing what skills the Canadian economy will need in the future and ensuring that immigration strategy aligns with those needs.
It said that Canada must focus on bringing “workers to Canada who can help alleviate social pressures in key areas like housing and health care, using dedicated Category-Based Selection draws in Express Entry.”
Last week, Miller told Global News that he was not planning on capping the intake of international students into Canada, saying it would be like “doing surgery with a hammer.”
Instead, he announced several reforms to the international student program to stop instances of fraud and said he wants to take a year to work with provinces on the matter — but that the idea of a cap could be one to revisit if those efforts fail to make a difference.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
