Newcomers Face ‘Really Daunting’ Housing Situation, but Immigration Levels Won’t Be Reduced: Immigration Minister

Then-crown-indigenous relations minister Marc Miller, now immigration minister, speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on June 28, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he recognizes newcomers to Canada face a difficult situation with finding a place to live, but his government is not considering reducing immigration levels to alleviate pressures on housing.

“If I were to move countries, I don’t think I would expect the host government to provide me with with a house,” Mr. Miller told reporters in Montreal on Aug. 11.

He added, however, that the drastic increase in the price of houses in the last decade is “something that is really daunting for someone that is coming to this country, often without the financial means to pay for a house.”

The minister took questions after making an announcement on the First Home Savings Account, a program launched in April. He was asked whether the government should slash immigration targets given the housing crisis and if it’s fair for newcomers to arrive in this environment.

While noting some immigrants will face difficulties, he pointed out that economic migration also comes with capital.

“We shouldn’t assume that the 500,000 people are actually not here yet—there are permanent residents that already have houses. Nor should we assume that those folks coming here do not have the capital to buy a house,” he said.

Mr. Miller’s half a million people remark was in relation to the government’s target to bring in 500,000 new immigrants by 2025. Those newcomers will be permanent residents, hence the residents referred to by the minister do not account for new ones who will obtain Canadian status.

Mr. Miller moved from Crown-Indigenous Relations to Immigration in the July 26 cabinet shuffle. His predecessor Sean Fraser was put in charge of Housing.

The Liberal government has defended the current immigration targets amid the housing crisis by citing the need to bring in new workers, including tradespeople to work in construction.

“If people are asking us to slash, what does that mean?” said Mr. Miller on Aug. 11. “Does that mean slashing the skilled workers that we need to actually build those houses? Slash family reunification, which can be devastating for the mental health and the well being of families that are already here?”

The government seeks to have a little over 60 percent of new immigrants in the economic class by 2025. The minister explained that the other 20 percent is aimed at family reunification and the balance for unpredictable cases for refugees and crisis responses.

“We have a humanitarian duty towards people that are fleeing war and persecution,” he said.

The government’s plan on immigration and housing was recently put in question in a report by TD Bank economists, who see the population boom as risking “coming at a cost of worsening dislocations in other segments of the economy.”

“Continuing with a high-growth immigration strategy could widen the housing shortfall by about a half-million units within just two years,” says the July report. “Recent government policies to accelerate construction are unlikely to offer a stop-gap due to the short time period and the natural lags in adjusting supply.”