Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged on Tuesday that the surge in non permanent immigrants to the nation was “beyond” what it was “able to absorb” and stated his authorities wished to get these numbers down.

Responding to questions at an unrelated occasion in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Trudeau stated, “Over the past few years, we’ve seen a massive spike in temporary immigration whether its temporary foreign workers or whether its international students, in particular, that have grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb.”

He stated that in 2017, the share of the general inhabitants comprising non permanent immigrants was simply 2, however it has ballooned to 7.5% presently.

“That’s something we need to get back under control,” he stated, including his authorities wished to “get those numbers down” they usually “caused so much pressure in our communities”.

The leap in immigration numbers has prompted a housing affordability disaster in Canada, whereas additionally impacting companies and infrastructure and has contributed to the plummeting political fortunes of Trudeau and the ruling Liberal Party.

At the time Trudeau first got here into workplace, in 2015, the variety of worldwide college students totalled 219,035, of whom Indians with research permits have been at 31,920. Both these numbers have surged since, with 684,385 research permits issued in 2023, with 278,860 Indians amongst them. Similarly for non permanent international staff, in line with information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), there have been simply 1,955 in 2015, together with 155 from India. In 2023, these numbers sharply escalated to 167,65 and 24,330 respectively.

Under strain, the federal government has tried to mood the numbers. On March 21, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller introduced the federal government’s goal to “decrease in our temporary residents population to 5% over the next three years.”

In January, IRCC introduced it should implement an consumption cap on the variety of functions accepted for research permits for worldwide college students which is predicted to lead to a discount of 35 per cent in these numbers this yr as in comparison with 2023. “For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from 2023,” IRCC famous in a launch on the time.