Housing To Be Part Of Canada Immigration Plan As Criticism Grows

Homes in the St. Andrew-Windfields neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. The roots of Canada's housing dysfunction lie in provincial and city governments that don't have a strategy for dealing with the immigrant influx and are all too easily swayed by residents' groups opposing greater density.

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government aims to integrate residential planning into its immigration policies as it faces a growing backlash over worsening housing shortages and affordability.

The federal government will take dwellings, health care, infrastructure and important services into consideration when setting the country's immigration targets, working closely with provinces and municipalities, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday in Ottawa. He also released a report that lays out a pathway to “strengthen” the immigration system.

The plan highlighted the government's attempt to calm criticism that its policies to bring in record numbers of newcomers to grow the population and economy are exacerbating existing housing shortages and adding more pressure on infrastructure and services like health care. Support for immigration levels dropped to the lowest point in two decades on housing concerns.

Miller's announcement comes a day before he's set to announce new annual targets for permanent residents. Last year, the government said it aims to welcome record numbers of 485,000 permanent residents in 2024 and half a million in 2025. In an August interview, Miller said he'd either keep or raise those targets, not reduce them, because “the need is too great.”

Trudeau's government has heavily relied on immigration to rapidly add more workers to stave off economic decline from an aging populace. Over a one-year period to July 1, Canada's population grew at a record 2.9%, among the world's fastest rates, and international migration was responsible for nearly 98% of that growth as fertility reached historic lows.

Similar to many advanced economies, the share of Canada's population that is working age is shrinking. There are now about three workers to each senior, compared with seven workers 50 years ago, and that share is projected to drop close to two workers. Since about two-thirds of recent immigrants are between the ages of 25 and 54, newcomers are helping to rejuvenate the aging workforce.

The government will also position the immigration system to adapt more quickly to growing global humanitarian crises, maintain and increase the demographic weight of French communities, improve its foreign student program, and create a chief international talent officer position, who will more effectively align newcomer pathways with the labor market.

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