Former Minister of Housing and Immigration Shawn Fraser said that permanent residence numbers in Canada are "in the right place."

Fraser explained during an interview on Tuesday with the Power Play program on CTV News Channel with Vassy Kapelos: “We are working on increasing our permanent resident population at a rate we can handle.”

The minister’s comments came in response to a question about remarks made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier that day, when he admitted that the "huge surge" in temporary immigration levels under his government "grew at a rate far beyond what Canada was able to absorb."

Trudeau said at a press conference in Dartmouth, New South Wales: "So we want to reduce these numbers," stressing that it is a "responsible approach" to maintaining permanent residence levels while reducing numbers on the temporary immigration side.

The federal government faced criticism earlier this year after the Canadian Press reported – citing internal documents obtained through an access to information request – in January that the federal government was warned by public servants two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardize housing affordability.

Two weeks later, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced plans to reduce the number of international student permits by about 35 percent from 2023 levels.

Last year, the number of international students studying in Canada reached more than 900,000, three times what it was a decade ago, according to the Canadian Press.

Then, in late March, Miller announced that Canada would set a "soft cap" on the number of temporary residents arriving, with targets set in September.

When asked if he thought permanent immigration levels also needed adjustment, Fraser told Kapelos that the federal government continues to "accommodate long-term population growth through permanent residence and a sustainable and well-planned immigration strategy."

He also insisted that the federal government was considering placing limits on the number of temporary residents before the summer cabinet shuffle when he was moved from the Immigration portfolio to Housing, and before media reports on the impact of these numbers on housing affordability. But no announcement to that effect was made until this year.

But when it comes to the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes, Fraser said there are no plans to change the targets.

Fraser added, "We have demographic and economic challenges that immigration can help solve." "The challenges we've faced have largely been on the temporary side of the equation."

He continued, "These programs are not subject to the levels set by the government usually, but are driven by demand either by institutions like colleges and universities or by employers who benefit from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program."

The Liberals set targets that contribute to bringing in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in 2025 and 2026.