Advocates concerned temporary immigration cuts don't address systemic issues | CBC News

"The Carney government's first budget will significantly reduce the number of temporary immigrants it admits to Canada over the next three years. The cuts are being made to the temporary foreign worker program and the international student program. The 2026 target for temporary foreign worker (TFW) arrivals is now 60,000, down from the 82,000 the government announced last year, and the international student target is now 150,000, down from 305,900. The move aligns with the tougher stance the Carney government has made on immigration compared to his predecessor, Justin Trudeau."

"During a conversation at the Canadian Club in Toronto on Friday, Carney mentioned that in 2018 temporary residents were about three per cent of Canada's population, and by the time he became prime minister they made up 7.5 per cent. That is an enormous shift in a very short period of time, and far exceeded our ability to welcome people and make sure that they had good housing and services, said Carney. The TFW program allows employers to hire foreign workers to fill positions that are unable to be filled by Canadians."

""The Liberals have to answer: Why is it that they are shutting our own youth out of jobs and replacing them with low-wage, temporary foreign workers from poor countries who are ultimately being exploited?" he said in September. But Lynn Bueckert, the secretary business manager for the Hospital Employees' Union in B.C., said in a statement that foreign workers are filling critical positions sustaining the system, not draining it. Critics say the temporary foreign worker program is structurally exploitative."

The Carney government will reduce temporary immigrant admissions over the next three years by cutting the temporary foreign worker program and the international student program. The 2026 target for temporary foreign worker arrivals is set at 60,000, down from 82,000, and the international student target is set at 150,000, down from 305,900. Temporary residents rose from about three per cent of the population in 2018 to 7.5 per cent by Carney's premiership, creating pressures on housing and services. The TFW program fills roles employers cannot staff with Canadians; critics call it exploitative while some unions say workers sustain the system.

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