Canada's large immigrant population has long been regarded as a virtue — but new data suggests popular opinion on adding more newcomers has gone through a seismic shift after years of explosive growth.
For much of the last 25 years, immigration was something of a third rail in Canadian politics, with few elected officials publicly questioning its value. On that issue, too, there's been a major about-face.
At the Liberal caucus retreat in Edmonton this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney put the immigration system on notice, saying recent levels have not been "sustainable" and a more "focused" approach is required. "It's clear that we must improve our overall immigration policies," he said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is going further than he has in the past, calling for "very hard caps," blasting the Liberals for taking in "too many, too quickly" while demanding the temporary foreign worker program be scrapped altogether.
WATCH | Government working on changes to TFW program: Carney says government is working on changes to temporary foreign worker program | Duration 0:39 Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday in Edmonton that his government is working on new immigration policies and emphasized the temporary foreign worker program requires a more ‘focused approach’
B.C.
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