Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre clashed on the issue of immigration over the weekend, as the Liberal government ponders whether to put a cap on the number of international students coming to Canada.
Following an interview with CTV News where Mr. Miller said the volume of international students entering Canada was “disconcerting” and that the system had “gotten out of control,” Mr. Poilievre said on X that the comment was a “vicious attack” on the previous Immigration Minister Sean Fraser’s record.
Mr. Poilievre posted the comment along with a link to the CTV article on Jan. 14 saying, “Vicious attack by current Minister Marc Miller against Sean Fraser’s record as immigration minister, accusing his cabinet colleague of allowing international student numbers to run ‘out of control.’”
Mr. Miller reacted to the comment on X the same day, saying, “I can’t think of something more idiotic and immature that Pierre Poilievre could have said about such an important issue. This isn’t serious leadership.”
The immigration minister said the change would reflect a “more accurate cost of living level,” adding that it would be “a mistake” to invite students to Canada when there is not adequate housing support. Housing affordability has become a major political issue in Canada in the last year, with parties suggesting various ways to lower rent costs and spur housing construction.
Ottawa Warned of Housing Affordability Crisis
The continued debate over housing comes as documents recently obtained by The Canadian Press through an access to information request showed that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada had previously analyzed the impact higher immigration would have on the Canadian economy in 2022.According to the article, Ottawa was warned that population growth had “exceeded the growth in available housing units,” and that there was a “misalignment between population growth and housing supply, and how permanent and temporary immigration shapes population growth.”
When asked about the report on Jan. 12, 20204, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said immigrants are a “real driver” of Canada’s economic growth and that they are needed at a time when Canada is facing demographic challenges.
In a press conference a day earlier, Mr. Poilievre put the blame on then-Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, who is now the housing minister. “Sean Fraser was the minister of immigration when the government warned him that his policies were leading to housing price inflation, and now Justin Trudeau has promoted him to housing minister,” he said.