OTTAWA –
For the first time, Canada will put a “soft cap” on the number of new temporary resident arrivals to the country when it sets immigration levels in the fall, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Thursday.
The announcement is the latest in a series of steps Miller has taken in recent months to rein in rampant population growth.
The federal government plans to decrease the number of temporary residents to five per cent of the population over the next three years, down from the current 6.2 per cent.
The first targets will be set in September.
Canada has seen a sharp increase in the number of temporary residents coming in each year, with Miller saying in the past that the country has become “addicted” to temporary workers.
“Changes are needed to make the system more efficient and more sustainable,” Miller told a news conference.
“There should be an honest conversation about what the rise in international migration means for Canada as we plan ahead,” he added.
Strong population growth in Canada has led to intense scrutiny of the country’s immigration policies and particularly of temporary resident streams.
Canada’s population grew by more than 430,000 during the third quarter of 2023, marking the fastest pace of population growth in any quarter since 1957. Nearly three-quarters of that growth was driven by non-permanent residents.
The number of temporary residents in Canada spiked due to higher international student enrolments at post-secondary institutions as well increased use of temporary worker programs.
The federal government loosened temporary foreign worker rules during the pandemic to help businesses fill positions amid record-high job vacancies.
Canada has also brought in significant numbers of migrants in response to humanitarian crises, including nearly 300,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
Economists have raised concerns about the increase in migrant workers in recent years, warning that the federal programs discourage employers from innovating by offering up cheap labour.
Miller already slashed the number of new international student visas by more than one-third earlier this year.
He also instituted a temporary cap to address housing pressures and problems in the student visa system that have allowed some bad actors to take advantage of high international student tuition while providing a poor education.
Miller said he’ll convene a meeting of provincial, territorial and federal ministers in May to talk about how the levels should be set.
“Provinces and territories know their unique labour needs and capacity and need to assume responsibility for the people that they bring in as well.”
Miller has also asked his department to review existing programs that bring in temporary workers so as to better align them with labour needs and weed out abuse in the system.
The government is also moving to reduce the number of workers entering Canada in certain sectors as of May 1.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said businesses that are currently allowed to have up to 30 per cent of their workforce come through the temporary foreign worker program will have that proportion drop to 20 per cent.
The health care and construction sectors will be exempted from the change.
The government is also requiring employers to consider asylum seekers with valid work permits for open jobs before they can apply for temporary foreign workers, Boissonnault said.
The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said temporary migrants have been scapegoated for the affordability and housing crisis to distract from corporate and government failure at ensuring a decent quality of life.
“We call on the federal government to stop responding to racism by playing with caps and numbers and instead build a fair society with equal rights for all,” the group said in a statement Thursday.
The group also repeated a long-standing call to offer permanent status to undocumented residents, migrant workers, international students and refugees.
The announcement signals a shift in the federal government’s policy on temporary foreign worker programs, said Mikal Skuterud, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo.
“My sense is that’s what this press conference was to send a message to people … that ‘we’re changing our tune a little bit on this. We’re shifting in a different direction now the emphasis about not growing this program but reducing the size of it,'” Skuterud said.
The academic, who specializes in immigration policy, has long called for reforms to the temporary foreign worker programs.
He said one way the federal government can rein things in is by raising the price a business has to pay to apply for a labour market impact assessment.
The federal government currently charges employers $1,000 per requested position
“If you want to reduce the demand for these temporary foreign workers, that price needs to increase,” he said.
Last fall, Miller announced he would level out the number of new permanent residents to Canada in 2026 in reaction to a crunch on housing and other services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.
This is a corrected story. An earlier version said the government plans to decrease the temporary resident population by five per cent over the next three years.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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