Toronto: Canada will incorporate planning for housing, healthcare and other services into its immigration strategy, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said, after the country posted its biggest population jump in almost seven decades.
Statistics Canada said the population grew by 2.9 per cent in the 12 months to July 1, 2023, to more than 40 million.
Canada is having a housing affordability crisis, amid a record uptake in immigrants. Bloomberg
“We need to better align immigration programs systems and services with Canada’s labour market,” Miller told reporters.
“This is what we’ve heard consistently from stakeholders and all those … that speak to us on a daily basis about their needs.”
For example, construction and healthcare have been dogged by labour shortages in recent years.
The government is facing pressure to address concerns about targeting annual immigration at around 500,000 permanent residents by 2025 given the backdrop of an affordable housing crisis and escalating living costs.
This year’s target is 465,000.
One key to the new strategy is to accelerate processing services for international student permits at institutions with better housing, services and other supports, the ministry said.
The new strategy was important for Canada to adapt quickly and respond sustainably to growing global humanitarian crises, Miller said.
Reuters
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Publish date : 2023-11-01 03:00:00
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