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Trudeau admits immigration too much for Canada to ‘absorb’ but keeps target at record high

Published

7 months ago

4 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Despite his admission that the influx of people has outpaced Canada’s ability to sustain itself, Trudeau said he is committed to continuing his government’s plan to bring in 500,000 permanent immigrants each year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that his mass immigration policies have driven Canadians’ wages down and attributed to the housing crisis, but he still insists on bringing in hundreds of thousands of people each year.  

During an April 2 media conference in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Trudeau acknowledged that his immigration policies have negatively affected Canadians after a journalist questioned him on how his policies have contributed to record high unaffordability in the nation.  

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a massive spike in temporary immigration, whether it’s temporary foreign workers or whether it’s international students in particular that have grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb,” he admitted.  

“To give an example, in 2017, two per cent of Canada’s population was made up of temporary immigrants,” Trudeau continued. “Now we’re at 7.5 per cent of our population comprised of temporary immigrants. That’s something we need to get back under control.”  

Amid heckling from protestors, Trudeau acknowledged that the immigration crisis must be solved. However, he attributed the negative effects only to the spike in “temporary” immigrants, who he claims are “putting pressure on our communities.”

“That’s something that we need to get back under control, both for the benefit of those people because international students we’re seeing increasingly vulnerable to mental health challenges, to not being able to thrive and get the education they want,” he stated. 

“But also, increasingly more and more businesses [are] relying on temporary foreign workers in a way that is driving down wages in some sectors,” Trudeau continued.  

Despite the admission, Trudeau announced that he still plans to bring in permanent immigrants at a record pace, despite Canadians struggling to afford homes and even food.  

“Every year, we bring in about 450,000, now close to 500,000, permanent residents a year, and that is part of the necessary growth of Canada,” he insisted. “It benefits our citizens, our communities, it benefits our economy.”

While Trudeau remains insistent that mass immigration “benefits” the economy, recent figures show that the nation’s GDP per capita growth rate is dismal compared to other countries with lower relative immigration levels like the United States.

The Bank of Canada has even gone as far as saying that the weakening productivity of the nation’s economy has become “an emergency.”

In March, Canada reached a population of 41 million, just 9 months after hitting the 40 million mark. Such growth is unprecedented in recent history and among the highest immigration rates in the world.

Trudeau’s acknowledgment comes as a recent report found that Canada is one of the unhappiest places in the West for people in their 20s as young Canadians are experiencing the effects of Trudeau’s government, which has been criticized for its overspending, onerous climate regulations, lax immigration policies, and “woke” politics.     

Additionally, a March poll revealed that seven out of 10 Canadians believe the country is broken and that the Trudeau government does not focus on issues that matter. 

Furthermore, many have pointed out that considering rising home prices, many Canadians under 30 are at risk of never being able to purchase a home.

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Alberta

New red tape reporting website will help ramp up housing construction in Alberta

Published on November 13, 2024

By

Helping builders by putting an end to housing delays

Alberta’s new Stop Housing Delays online portal will allow developers, municipalities and other housing partners to report red tape and unnecessary home-building delays.

Alberta’s government is focused on ensuring Albertans have access to the housing they need, and that means working to streamline processes, cut red tape and reduce delays that are slowing housing construction down. As part of this work, government has launched a new online portal to help in these efforts.

The Stop Housing Delays online portal is now available for developers and municipal authorities to help identify areas that are preventing fast and efficient residential construction. This portal will help government identify and address barriers to building homes across the province.

“The Stop Housing Delays portal will allow Alberta’s government to hear directly from developers, municipalities and other partners on where delays are happening in the construction process. This will help identify and remove barriers, ultimately getting homes built faster and continuing Alberta’s record home-building pace.”

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services

“Alberta’s government will continue to work with municipalities and find solutions to speed up the home-building process. The Stop Housing Delays portal will give us another tool to inform those discussions and identify areas where we can improve the pace of home building.”

Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs

Once developers, municipalities or industry partners have submitted their issue using the online form, government will collect and assess the information provided. Alberta’s government will be taking a collaborative, cross-ministry approach to ensure the appropriate departments are working together to find solutions where possible. Solutions may range from minor changes to policy reform.

Alberta’s government continues to support builders and encourage new residential housing construction by reducing red tape, incentivizing housing construction and supporting innovative strategies to build homes faster than ever.

“This webpage is an excellent opportunity to gather knowledge and further eliminate red tape. Government has been persistent in our approach of cutting red tape and removing roadblocks, and this will help to speed up residential construction. I look forward to hearing from developers and our other partners on how we can help get projects moving and Albertans in homes.”

Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction

Alberta continues to see strong housing starts and increases while other provinces across Canada are seeing a reduction in housing starts. The first half of 2024 saw 9,903 apartment unit starts in the province. This marks the highest amount in any half year in Alberta’s history, breaking the previous record of 9,750 set in 1977. Albertans will benefit from 33,577 new housing starts from January through September 2024, up 35 per cent from the same period last year. Alberta’s government remains focused on working with industry and non-profit partners to ensure that the province’s growing population has access to the housing it needs.

“This portal is a valuable tool for industry to highlight gaps, barriers and delays that may need to be prioritized and addressed by either local or provincial governments. Real solutions can only emerge through transparency, open communication and collaboration. This is an important step toward identifying the unique challenges each region and municipality faces in delivering attainable housing.”

Scott Fash, chief executive officer, BILD Alberta Association

Quick Facts

  • Housing starts for January – September 2024 compared with January – September 2023
    • Provincewide: 33,577 compared with 24,904 (up 35 per cent)
    • Edmonton: 13,359 compared with 9,099 (up 47 per cent)
    • Calgary: 17,414 compared with 14,141 (up 23 per cent)
    • Lethbridge: 599 compared with 148 (up 305 per cent)
    • Red Deer: 314 compared with 146 (up 115 per cent)
  • Data shows Alberta had 10,699 purpose-built rentals, making up 32 per cent of all housing starts.
  • Since 2019, Alberta’s government has invested almost $850 million to build more than 5,100 units and close to 900 shelter spaces. This includes projects we have committed to, that are in progress and that are complete.
  • Together with its partners, Alberta’s government is supporting $9 billion in investments into affordable housing to support 25,000 additional low-income households by 2031.

Related information

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Housing

Poilievre will cut sales tax on new homes under $1 Million saving tens of thousands

Published on November 2, 2024

By

From a Conservative Party of Canada news release

In a video released Monday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has announced a plan to lower the cost of a new home’s worth under $1 million dollars.

Poilievre says a conservative government will axe the sales tax on new homes sold for less than $1 million.

That would cut the cost of an $800,000 home by $40,000 or a $500,000 home by $25,000.

Accordingly Poilievre says this will lead to the building of an extra 30,000 new homes every year.

The news could get even better as the PM hopeful says he’ll push provinces to drop their sales tax as well.

Poilievre plans to use money set aside in the Liberal’s Housing Accelerator Fund which he says has been ineffective.

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