Canada's foreign worker population surged to 2.8 million, affecting housing affordability, experts say
Foreign workers have been transitioning to permanent residency at higher rates in recent years, according to Statistics Canada.
A new report from the federal agency, as reported by The Canadian Press, shows that between 2016 and 2020, 23 percent of foreign workers became permanent residents within two years of obtaining their first work permits.
This figure represents a significant increase from the 12 percent observed between 2011 and 2015. The findings suggest that temporary residency has become a more significant pathway to permanent residency in Canada.
Temporary residents include asylum seekers as well as individuals with work or study permits. In contrast, permanent residents can work and live in Canada indefinitely, as long as they maintain their status.
The number of foreign workers and international students has spiked dramatically in recent years, contributing to a surge in population growth that experts say has worsened housing affordability.
The Liberal government has faced much of the blame for this growth, prompting new federal measures aimed at curbing temporary migration.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced in March that over the next three years, the government plans to reduce the share of temporary residents in Canada to five percent of the population. As of April 1, there were 2.8 million temporary residents in Canada, comprising 6.8 percent of the population.
During a meeting with provincial counterparts in May, Miller suggested that one way to curb the number of temporary residents in the country would be to offer them permanent residency.
“The fact people are already here, their impact on affordability has already been baked in, so it's smart,” Miller said. “But it doesn't mean by extension that everyone's entitled to stay here or be here in Canada.”
