Canada to reduce study and work permits to cut down temporary residents in country: Trudeau

Canada. Photo courtesy: Justin Trudeau X handle

#Canada, #StudyPermit, #WorkPermit, #JustinTrudeau

Ottawa/IBNS-CMEDIA: Canada is aiming to reduce the study and work permits in one step closer to cut down on the number of temporary residents in the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

The government on Wednesday said the number of study permits will be reduced to 4,37,000 in 2025.

“We’re granting 35% fewer international student permits this year. And next year, that number’s going down by another 10%. Immigration is an advantage for our economy — but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on X.

We’re granting 35% fewer international student permits this year. And next year, that number’s going down by another 10%.

Immigration is an advantage for our economy — but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down.— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 18, 2024

 Canada also aims to cut down on work permit eligibility of spouses of some students and temporary foreign workers, NDTV reported.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller in a statement said, “The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to—just like not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to.”

🇨🇦✈️Video : Liberal Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada went from taking in 437,000 temporary residents a year, to a whopping 1.2 million just in 2023.

This explains the unthinkable growth of tent cities, right across Canada. pic.twitter.com/37xRPK0Gu9— Bruce McGonigal (@bruce_mcgonigal) September 18, 2024

The Canadian government is aiming to cut down the number of temporary residents to 5 percent of the overall population. In April, it was 6.8%.

The migrants have been accused of causing several societal problems including scarcity of affordable housing and ramping up cost of living.

A cap on international students was placed in January 2024.

The approvals of the international students are expected to be halved this year.

In September, the government tracked back on its decision to expand the 2022 temporary foreign worker programme.

The new announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came after his Liberal Party faced a bypoll loss and is projected to be trailing as per opinion polls.