Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser and his colleague in immigration Mark Miller said that the Canadian government is working on stabilizing the number of people entering the country each year at a time when immigration affects housing availability in the country.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Press Agency reported on January 11 about internal documents from 2022 revealing that senior immigration officials warned their ministers' deputies that the large increase in the number of immigrants could cause pressures on access to housing and services.

The federal government finally decided to increase the number of permanent residents Canada will receive in 2025 to 500,000, which is nearly double the limit set in 2015.

As stated in a joint statement published on January 12, Ministers Fraser and Miller defended the decision to increase this rise in immigration, noting that without it the country's economy would have declined following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both government officials explained that companies facing labor shortages would have closed their doors and healthcare and other services would also have been affected by delays or difficulty in access, all due to staff shortages.

But Ministers Miller and Fraser also said that pressures on housing pushed the Liberal government to review its own immigration targets, as well as the number accepted for temporary residents in Canada.

Minister Miller decided to stabilize the number of permanent residents arriving in Canada at 500,000 by 2026, the same number as in 2025.

The Liberal government also made changes to the Canadian international student program to address issues of fraud and living costs for these newcomers, who now have to prove they have enough money.

Help for foreign students

According to the Liberal ministers, the federal government is ready to take further action if post-secondary institutions do not ensure they can meet the housing needs of international students.

The joint statement said: We hope that educational institutions only accept the number of students they can accommodate or help them find housing off-campus.