Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is downplaying concerns that Canadians’ support for immigration could be eroded amid a lack of housing, saying immigration can provide the labour to build more housing.
“One of the things I have heard consistently in the construction industry is the lack of labour: more carpenters, more skilled labourers, more folks to work in the construction industry to build the homes that we are needing to match the growing economy that we have right across the country,” Mr. Trudeau said during a press conference in Cornwall, P.E.I., on Aug. 21, ahead of the Liberal cabinet retreat.
“That’s why immigration remains a solution in terms of the labour shortages we’re seeing right across the country, in terms of building the kind of future for all Canadians that we need.”
Canada’s population reached 40 million in June, with a record 1.06 million newcomers arriving in the country in 2022.
Back in November 2022, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new plan that would see Canada bring in 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025, citing the need for newcomers to address labour shortages and demographic shifts that present challenges to the country.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the country is poised to take in 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023, followed by 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Spring 2023 Housing Market Outlook report, rental affordability is set to decline due to demand outstripping supply over the next year, with a “significant drop in housing starts” in British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario.
The CMHC said in 2022 that to restore housing affordability, an additional 3.5 million affordable units will need to be built by 2030.
The prime minister was also asked by reporters whether he regretted comments he made in early August that housing “isn’t a primary federal responsibility” and that the matter was mostly up to the provinces and territories.
Mr. Trudeau responded by blaming the previous Conservative government under Stephen Harper, saying it had “completely walked away from housing,” while his Liberals had made “significant investments” through the $82 billion National Housing Strategy in 2017.
‘Pressure On Our Infrastructure’
Economists have previously told The Epoch Times that while immigration is needed to drive Canada’s economy, the high levels will put stress on the country’s housing markets and health-care system.“There are certainly challenges that arise when we have immigration—of integration, challenges of the housing market, which we’re certainly seeing now,” said Kevin Milligan, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia.
“My first reaction is that it’s great for the people coming to the country, but maybe it’s not so great for the people in the country,” said Frank Clayton, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“It’s putting so much pressure on our infrastructure, whether it’s housing or hospitals or whatever, it seems that we’re not prepared for it.”
The Liberals’ three-day retreat in Charlottetown this week will focus on restoring Canadians’ economic security in the face of declining poll numbers.
At the Aug. 21 press conference, Mr. Trudeau reiterated that housing would be a priority during the retreat. While no big policy announcements are expected afterwards, ministers will be briefed by national experts on housing and youth employment.
