Conservatives, critics slam Globe and Mail column’s call for reopening the immigration gates

CALGARY — A recent Globe and Mail column has become the latest flashpoint in the raging debate over immigration in Canada, as columnist Doug Saunders’ call to “rev up” the country’s immigration system has drawn harsh criticism from Conservative politicians and other commentators who say Canada is still reeling from the previous population surge.In Saunders’ piece, published Thursday, he argued Ottawa’s recent immigration slowdown has “outlived its usefulness” and is now constraining economic growth, housing construction and the “nation-building” ambitions put forward by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government.“The Trump crisis has been a sobering reminder that our low population density and market size stand in the way of the independent industries and institutions we desire,” he said.He also cited a Deloitte analysis that showed that by 2030, Canada’s construction industry will be “needing between 410,000 and 520,000 more workers than can be provided by the domestic population.”.Remigration plan presented at Dominion Society event would reduce Canada’s population by 12 million.“A small share of that can be addressed through trades-education incentives and higher pay, but that still leaves a huge immigration shortfall in semi-skilled fields that are crucial to our ambitions,” Saunders said, adding that the drop in international student visas, while helping to curtail abuse of the system, has “deprived Canada of its best source of advanced skills, investment and permanent immigration.”However, many were quick to point out that Ottawa has yet to demonstrate that it can repair the housing, wage and enforcement problems caused by the Trudeau-era expansion.“Let’s get a credible plan to deal with the surge of low-skilled workers under the Trudeau era who will soon mostly be here illegally and then we can discuss how to get back to screening for the best and brightest,” Ben Rabidoux, founder of Edge Realty Analytics, said.“First things first.”.Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney also chimed in, accusing Saunders of demanding a return to the policies that produced Canada’s recent immigration crisis.“We haven’t even begun to clean up the unmitigated disaster of Trudeau-era immigration policy, but Doug Saunders, right on cue, is back at it with his One Big Idea: demanding infinite immigration,” Kenney said.“As Emerson wrote, ‘a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.’”On Friday, Reuters reported that Canada lost 41,700 jobs in August, with the overall unemployment rate sitting at 6.4%.However, Statistics Canada data show that youth unemployment was virtually unchanged from July at 12.6%..Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill) argued Canada should focus on its existing workforce instead of returning to high immigration levels that increase competition for employment.“Canada wants to be ambitious,” Rempel Garner wrote on X.“That means training underemployed and unemployed Canadian youth, developing better labour mobility policy, and ensuring the economy can actually create jobs. It doesn’t mean continued mass immigration levels that depress wages.”Saunders did, however, acknowledge that the post-pandemic expansion of temporary-worker and international-student programs pushed Canada’s non-permanent resident population to approximately three million.He described the Carney government’s subsequent restrictions as sensible and politically necessary, but argued that restraint is now impeding Canada’s economic ambitions.In its 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is targeting 380,000 new permanent residents annually through 2028.Ottawa has also reduced its target for new temporary resident arrivals to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in each of the following two years.However, for 2026 alone, when all types of admissions and permits are tallied, the total number of immigrants entering Canada in that single year still amounts to over 821,000.Saunders argued that permanent immigration should be increased from approximately 0.9% of the population annually to 1.1%, citing research suggesting the change could increase Canada’s annual GDP growth rate.However, some critics say headline GDP growth does not necessarily translate into better living standards or do anything to alleviate the already exacerbated housing crisis..“Canada can't house, or provide anywhere near adequate social services and healthcare for the citizens we already have here, and we still give these things away for free to non-taxpaying, non-permanent citizens and asylum seekers,” Cole Hogan, a Conservative political strategist, said.“We need fewer people, not more. Let's take care of Canadians first, not continue to inflate the cost of living and housing while overwhelming our schools, already crumbling infrastructure, healthcare system and social programs.”.A 2025 study from the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy found that new housing supply in Canada had not and could not be built rapidly enough to accommodate “all arrivals—or even all existing Canadians.”“The data on housing completions and starts in recent years show there is no reason to expect that that reality will change in the foreseeable future,” the study stated..From 2021 to 2023, the study found that more than 3.6 million immigrants arrived in Canada, while just over 773,000 housing units were built.“To moderate demand in the housing market and reduce the upward pressure on rental costs, immigration in most categories should be reduced significantly,” the study said.

Conservatives, critics slam Globe and Mail column’s call for reopening the immigration gates

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