Statement from the ICC on the Federal Government’s Announcement on Immigration Levels

24.10.2024

Following today’s joint announcement from the Prime Minister of Canada and his Minister of Immigration, Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, made the following statement:

“This drastic reduction in immigration levels will create more problems than it solves.

A decrease of 105,000 permanent residents represents less than 0.25% of the population. This measure will not cool the housing market. Instead, Canadians will feel the absence of 105,000 fewer workers—workers who could build more housing, staff more daycare spaces, and reduce healthcare wait times. These needs will only grow as immigration declines.

It is misleading to say that we have too many immigrants for our housing and healthcare systems to handle. The truth is, we don’t have enough housing and healthcare capacity to support all the immigrants Canada needs to grow and prosper.

We cannot slow our way to success. We can only grow our way to success.

Immigration is not the cause of Canada’s challenges. While we understand the government’s desire to restore public confidence in the immigration system, we hope today’s announcement does not lead anyone to believe that the solution to slow growth is to grow more slowly.”

-30-

Media Contact 

Alex Nanoff 
alex@liaisonstrategies.ca
media@inclusion.ca
+1 613 709 6318 

Stay
Connected

Stay in touch by signing up for our newsletter.

Topics

Perspectives ICC
Press Releases

OTHER ARTICLES/VIDEOS/PODCASTS/RESOURCES

View All

Bilingual citizenship ceremony at Glendon unique lesson for students

Article
Building Citizenship
ICC in the News

Meet CAP Member Bilal El Houri

CAP member Bilal received his citizenship only a few weeks ago. We reached out to Bilal after he received hundreds of comments on his Reddit post about the Cultural Access […]

Article
Cultural Access Pass

New IPSOS-ICC Study Reveals Newcomers Feel Welcomed and Treated Fairly yet Challenged by Housing and Finances

Early findings from The Newcomer Perspective, a study conducted jointly by Ipsos and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), show that newcomers have mixed feelings as they acclimatize to life in Canada. Preliminary results from the research, which will gather the views of 20,000 newcomers to Canada in 2024, demonstrate how critical it is for governments, businesses and all Canadians to understand all phases of the newcomer journey to Canada. That journey is indeed a very dynamic one, with significant shifts in perspectives and behaviours across different demographics and throughout the first ten years in Canada. As results also demonstrate, it is also a journey of mixed emotions.

Article
Research
Press Releases