Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is cutting back on the number of newcomers coming to Canada for the first time in over a decade. This marks a shift for a country that previously welcomed high levels of immigration.

According to a government official who asked not to be named in order to discuss topics not yet public, Canada is expected to reduce its annual permanent-resident objective to roughly 395,000 for the upcoming year, a 21% decrease from the initial aim of half a million established last year. In addition to this, the yearly goal will be further reduced to about 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. 

The National Post reported the news on Wednesday. Immigration Minister Marc Miller will present the final figures to Parliament on Thursday morning. Canada's immigration system relies on permanent residents, especially young and educated workers, to help address its ageing workforce. A significant reduction in immigration numbers to pre-pandemic levels suggests that the government is lowering its immigration targets.

After travel restrictions were lifted in 2022, a significant influx of immigrants started to arrive, resulting in a record population growth. This migration was comparable to bringing all of San Diego's citizens to a nation that is only somewhat more populous than California in a single year. As a result, the unemployment rate increased, rent costs increased, public services were overburdened, and housing shortages grew worse.

A long-held conviction that Canada has an advantage in the global competition to draw in young workers in order to halt economic decline was put in jeopardy by these factors. According to last week's results of the nation's longest-running immigration study, Canadians haven't been this hostile toward immigration levels in 25 years.

However, in recent years, the majority of immigrants have not been permanent residents. Instead, newcomers who came to study and work on temporary visas with the intention of obtaining permanent status were the main source of the massive influxes. Trudeau's government came under increasing fire for losing control over immigration as a result of these so-called temporary residents. On Thursday, Miller and Trudeau will unveil the first-ever yearly goal for temporary immigration.

Over the next three years, Trudeau's administration has already established a target to significantly reduce the number of temporary residents, which includes limiting the number of international students admitted and limiting the usage of foreign labour.