Housing Minister Floats More Immigration Reforms Amid Housing Shortages

Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser answers a question in the House of Commons during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 18, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Housing Minister Sean Fraser says changes could be made to the country’s international student visa and temporary foreign workers program to reduce immigration amid housing shortages.

“We do need to continue to look at reforms to our temporary residency programs. We’ve seen a significant increase in the numbers of the international student program and the temporary foreign worker program in recent years,” Mr. Fraser told Global News on Dec.12

Mr. Fraser’s suggestion comes a week after Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced international students will soon need $20,635 in funds—not including tuition—to support themselves in Canada, which more than doubles the previous requirement of $10,000.

“In welcoming international students, we have a responsibility to make sure that students are supported when they come to our country,” Mr. Miller said during a press conference on Dec. 7, adding that the change would reflect a more “accurate cost of living level” and allow the students to come to the country with the “necessary resources to live and study in Canada.”

From July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, nearly 1.2 million people were admitted to Canada under both permanent and temporary immigration programs, according to Statistics Canada.

The number of international students in Canada has hit record levels in recent years, with government figures showing more than 807,000 study permit holders in the country in 2022—an increase of over 190,000 from 2021.

At the same time, From July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, nearly 1.2 million people were admitted to Canada under both the permanent and temporary immigration programs, according to StatCan. The country is poised to take in 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Back in August, at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, Mr. Fraser said cabinet “ought to consider capping student visas to reduce the demand for housing in municipalities with large student populations.” Mr. Fraser also told Global News that the federal government should focus on building more housing before considering such a cap.

Several economists have previously told The Epoch Times that Canada’s high immigration levels have put a strain on its housing market, schools, and health-care system. Frank Clayton, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Toronto Metropolitan University, described the number of new Canadians in recent years as “overwhelming” for municipalities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Mr. Clayton also said that because Canada’s immigration is much higher relative to the United States, housing prices will continue rising as the supply shrinks. The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation has said that at current building levels, the country will be short 3.5 million homes by 2030.

Kevin Milligan, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia, said a growing population of “young, ambitious, well-trained” international students can benefit Canada. But he acknowledged that immigration numbers have put stress on many cities’ housing markets.

Mr. Milligan said he and some other economists have expressed “caution about whether we’ve gone a bit too far too fast, especially on the student visa issue and the stress it has on some areas of Canada.”