Canada鈥檚 housing minister says the federal government isn鈥檛 ruling out changes to its ambitious immigration targets, but maintains the country should also focus on what it can do to increase housing supply when it comes to addressing current housing challenges.
鈥淲hen we look to the future of immigration levels planning, we want to maintain ambition and immigration, but we want to better align our immigration policies with the absorptive capacity of communities that includes housing, that includes health care, that includes infrastructure," Sean Fraser said in an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period with Vassy Kapelos on Sunday.
Fraser said he believes the federal government has 鈥渟ome work to do鈥� with its temporary immigration programs, which currently operate on the basis of demand in an 鈥渦ncapped way,鈥� but doesn鈥檛 鈥渘ecessarily鈥� need to reduce the number of newcomers who become permanent residents each year. It鈥檚 common for almost half of those individuals to already be in Canada as temporary residents, he noted.
Before making any changes, however, Fraser said the federal government would have to consult with other levels of government 鈥� since deciding which institutions take in international students is within the purview of provincial governments 鈥� as well as institutions that have 鈥渁 duty to play part of a role in housing the people who come here.鈥�
He also stressed that conversations around addressing the country鈥檚 housing crisis should not solely revolve around immigration.
鈥淚t's important that when we're looking at the answer to our housing challenges, we also focus on what we can do to increase the supply,鈥� the minister said.
鈥淚 think it's essential that we remember that immigration remains one of Canada's strongest competitive advantages in the global economy.鈥�
Fraser introduced Canada鈥檚 ambitious immigration targets in November 2022 when he was the federal immigration minister, with a goal of bringing in 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.
At the time, he said the move was necessary to ensure Canada鈥檚 economic prosperity, by helping businesses find workers to fill in labour gaps and to attract the skills required in key sectors including health care, skilled trades, manufacturing and technology.
Academics, commercial banks, opposition politicians and policy thinkers, however, have been warning the federal government the country鈥檚 high-growth immigration strategy is exacerbating Canada鈥檚 housing crisis.
In a July report, economists from TD estimated that if the current immigration strategy continues, Canada鈥檚 housing shortfall could widen by about half a million units in just two years鈥� time.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has estimated , to help achieve some semblance of housing affordability.
Fraser previously said putting a cap on the number of international students permitted to study in this country is one of the solutions the federal government is discussing when it comes to addressing housing affordability and rental availability.
But when speaking with Kapelos on Sunday, he said his preference is to continue to welcome 鈥渟ignificant numbers鈥� of international students 鈥渂ecause the program is good for Canada, both in the short term and the long term when you create a pipeline of potential new citizens.鈥�
Fraser said the federal government, along with its provincial and institutional partners, have to ensure that international students 鈥� 鈥� are supported and communities have the capacity to 鈥渁bsorb them鈥� when they arrive here.
鈥淚f we were going to shift the way that we operate, to set a target or to align the numbers with the housing capacity, it's a monumental change in the way that Canada does immigration,鈥� Fraser said.
鈥淭hat doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. But it does mean if we're seeking to make a permanent change to the way that Canada's immigration laws operate, we have to do it right.鈥�
Welcoming people to Canada who are making a productive contribution to the country鈥檚 economy is 鈥渆ssential,鈥� Fraser said, adding he doesn鈥檛 鈥渨ant to lose that."
