The federal government says it is “taking back control” of Canada’s immigration system with sweeping cuts to foreign student and migrant labour permits, following warnings from Prime Minister Mark Carney that the system had become unsustainable.Blacklock's Reporter says Immigration Minister Lena Diab is expected to table a new Immigration Levels Plan that reduces the number of temporary permits by 43% over the next two years, according to the federal budget Canada Strong. The plan describes the current system as bloated and inefficient after years of record arrivals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.“The system has evolved,” the finance department wrote. “Its complexity has grown and its efficiency has waned. In recent years the system became even harder to manage and less functional, and the pace of arrivals began to exceed Canada’s capacity to absorb and support newcomers in the way we are used to doing.”.Under the plan, annual targets for permanent residents will fall from 395,000 this year to 380,000 by 2026, a cap that will remain in place until at least 2028. Temporary permits for students and migrant workers will be reduced from 673,650 this year to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027.While the government acknowledged that some sectors depend heavily on temporary workers, it said future immigration planning will account for the “unique needs” of rural and remote areas, as well as industries affected by tariffs..Carney has repeatedly signalled his intent to rein in mass immigration, calling the current model unsustainable. “There are limits,” he said in April. “We have to be human but we have to be realistic. Canada cannot accept everyone.”In a February leadership debate, Carney went further, saying record immigration had disguised a weakening economy. “Our economy over the last five years has been driven by a big increase in the labour force, largely from immigration, and by government spending that grew over 9% year after year, twice the rate of our economic growth,” he said.Cabinet’s new approach marks one of the sharpest reversals yet from Trudeau-era immigration policy, as Ottawa concedes the system it once celebrated as a strength has become a strain.
