Federal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains convinced that part of the solution to the housing crisis and labor shortage in the construction sector lies in Canada welcoming more immigrants.

During his stop today in the city of Saint John in the Atlantic province of New Brunswick, where he announced granting $9.1 million to build 285 new housing units over the next three years, the Liberal Prime Minister was asked about his expectations for achieving this goal while the construction sector suffers from a labor shortage.

Trudeau responded, without hesitation, that "we should look at how to speed up the certification process for workers and bring in people who can work immediately to build homes" in local communities.

Yesterday, while speaking before the Greater Montreal Chamber of Commerce (CCMM), Trudeau reaffirmed his commitment to continue increasing the number of permanent residents to 500,000 annually by 2025, while expressing his desire to regain control over temporary immigration, especially concerning foreign students and temporary workers who, according to him, have a greater impact on the housing crisis.

He had called on higher education institutions and businesses to find solutions themselves for housing temporary residents.

In another area, Trudeau denied seeking political points in the Atlantic provinces by exempting heating oil from the carbon tax for three years.

"It was never a matter of popularity, but a matter of responding to the real needs of the people," Trudeau explained, emphasizing that the temporary tax exemption announced last late October applies to all of Canada, not just the Atlantic provinces.

Trudeau added that carbon pricing may not be "the right tool" to encourage people to switch to more environmentally friendly heating methods.

Trudeau reminded that the federal programs announced will allow families using heating oil to heat their homes to install electric heat pumps at a low cost, or even at no cost at all for low-income families.

It is noted that residents of the Atlantic provinces use heating oil more than residents of other provinces to heat their homes. In Nova Scotia, the largest of these provinces in terms of population (about 1.07 million people), one-third of households use heating oil to heat their homes.