Canadians expressed strong skepticism over record immigration levels and questioned the federal government's justification for them, according to a Privy Council report compiled just weeks before Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney publicly criticized the system.Blacklock's Reporter says a nationwide series of focus groups found participants viewed Canada’s immigration system in largely negative terms, citing concerns about housing shortages, strained public services and limited job opportunities for newcomers. “Almost all described it in negative terms with a large number of the impression the system was experiencing considerable strain,” said the report, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views.The findings, based on a $1.6 million research contract with Toronto-based firm The Strategic Counsel, were delivered to cabinet on January 20. Carney later echoed many of the concerns in an April 16 leadership debate, saying, “The system is not working,” and calling for a temporary cap on immigration..Canada’s annual intake of permanent residents has surged since 2022, breaking a 1913 record of 400,870 people. Cabinet’s 2023 immigration plan proposed a modest 11% reduction in certain categories, including more than 1 million foreign students and over 760,000 migrant workers.Despite repeated claims that immigration is vital to filling job vacancies and funding social programs, focus group participants remained unconvinced. The report found most rejected the idea that high immigration helps the economy in the long term and instead saw it as a short-term fix. “Many viewed attracting immigrants to address labour shortages as being a reactive, short term solution,” it said..Participants urged a stronger focus on increasing domestic workforce participation. “A greater emphasis should instead have been placed on getting more Canadians back to work,” the report noted.Former immigration minister Sean Fraser had argued that immigration was essential to economic growth. “We cannot fill those jobs,” Fraser told MPs in 2022. “Immigration is critical to the wellbeing of our communities.”Carney, in his debate comments, said Canada’s population was growing by about 3% per year due to immigration. “That’s why we need to have a cap for a certain period of time,” he said.
