Poilievre calls for ‘severe limits' on Canadian population growth
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the Canadian population has grown out of control and is calling on the Liberal government to further reduce immigration.
'We want severe limits on population growth to reverse the damage the Liberals did to our system,' Poilievre said during a press conference Tuesday in the foyer of the House of Commons.
'The population has been growing out of control, our border has been left wide open. This has caused the free flow of drugs, illegal migration, human trafficking and much worse.'
Poilievre did not take followup questions from reporters on what he meant by 'severe limits on population growth.'
Global News has reached out to the Conservative Party of Canada for clarification but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Story continues below advertisement
Canada's population saw a substantial surge between 2021 and 2024, jumping by nearly nine per cent, according to Statistics Canada. In March of 2024, Canada's population reached 41 million people, the fastest domestic growth in over 60 years.
2:14
Canada's foreign student asylum claims hit record high in 2024, set to grow in 2025
Under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the Liberal government said it would reduce the number of permanent residents admitted annually by 21 per cent from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025, then falling further to 380,000 by 2026 and 365,000 by 2027.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The Trudeau Liberals also promised to cap the number of temporary residents admitted from 6.5 per cent to five per cent of the total population by the end of 2026.
0:31
Canada's population hits 41M, seeing fastest growth in more than 60 years
Prime Minister Mark Carney has broadly accepted the previous Trudeau targets, writing in his mandate letter to cabinet ministers that he wants to return 'overall immigration rates to sustainable levels.'
Story continues below advertisement
During the election, the Conservative platform promised the party would cut permanent immigration levels 'to a sustainable rate similar to the levels under the Harper government.'
Under former prime minister Stephen Harper, Canada's permanent immigration levels ranged between 240,000 in 2006 and 285,000 in 2016, but it was unclear if the Conservative proposal was an absolute reduction in immigration or proportional to current population levels.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada's giant immigration industry will have to get used to 'intense' public debate
When I was asked to address members of the immigration division of the Canadian Bar Association, I expected an audience of maybe 25 to 50 lawyers. But last Saturday, 400 immigration lawyers showed up at the Victoria Convention Centre to hear what three Canadian journalists and a think-tank member had to say about the media's impact on migration. The panel was asked to address immigration lawyers' fears that heightened media coverage is 'sparking intense public debate' and influencing 'how immigrants are perceived and how decisions are made.' In addition to offering our thoughts, panel members learned there are actually more than 1,200 immigration lawyers in the Canadian Bar Association, with their numbers mushrooming in the past 15 years. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. I noted there are another 13,000 licensed immigration consultants in Canada, a doubling in just seven years. The lawyers in Victoria let us know, justifiably, that the 'consultants' are not as highly trained as lawyers, or as regulated. On top of these private players employed in the migration sector, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has doubled its staff in a decade to more than 13,000 employees . Altogether, these professionals and workers add up to an army of more than 27,000 immigration specialists (about the same as the number of soldiers and staff employed by Canada's Department of Defence). All make their living helping migrants navigate the complexities of becoming a foreign student, temporary worker, reunified family member, investor immigrant or permanent resident of Canada. In addition, the C.D. Howe Institute maintains another huge cohort that does somewhat the same thing. Unlicensed agents — from the fields of travel, education and labour — also take fees for advising clients on how to get into Canada and stay there. The institute's Tingting Zhang and Parisa Mahboubi, therefore, maintain there should be many more licensed consultants — and that the government should offer better aid to the roughly six million people whose applications are each year processed for entry into Canada. In other words, the 400 lawyers who gathered last week at the Victoria Conference Centre represented just a fragment of the immigration business in Canada. No wonder it's called one of the country's biggest industries. Understandably, the gathered immigration lawyers, the slight majority of whom were women, wanted to do everything they could to help the clients in Canada and around the world who come to them. Their questions and comments all revolved around the hope that borders be more open and the often-labyrinthine migration process easier. They also worried about declining support for immigration. A Leger poll this spring found 58 per cent of Canadians believe migration rates are 'too high' . Even half of those who have been in the country less than a decade feel that way. Given the lawyers' desire to assist their clients, many were wary that in the past two years more journalists have been digging into migration policy and its impact. That's in large part because former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doubled immigration levels and increased the number of guest workers and foreign students by five times . Almost three million non-permanent residents now comprise 7.3 per cent of the population, up from 1.4 per cent in 2015. The lawyers noted that, after decades in which journalists essentially avoided migration issues, many more articles were being written about such topics as the sudden jump in asylum seekers, tens of thousands of international students not attending school, businesses exploiting temporary workers and population pressures on housing and rents. Two panelists, Toronto Star immigration reporter Nicholas Keung and Steve D'Souza of CBC's Fifth Estate, emphasized the value of talking to migrants to develop poignant 'human interest' stories. They have also investigated how bosses, fly-by-night colleges and some migrants have taken part in scams. In response to CBA's concerns that Canada's media were producing 'stories that have become a lightning rod for public sentiment, shaping how immigrants are perceived and how decisions are made,' the journalists on the panel explained it's our duty to cover migration stories, and all stories, in a way that is 'fair, balanced and accurate.' Although panelist Daniel Bernhard, of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, correctly said that some journalism about migration is superficial, I suggested it's generally a good thing Canada's long-standing national taboo against reporting on and debating migration policy has eased. Although some politicians, migration lawyers, consultants and other agents may not always like it, I also said journalists' goal is to responsibly probe to the truth of a matter and, beyond that, to 'let the chips fall where they may.' Since my Vancouver Sun editors about a dozen years ago asked me to produce more analyses about migration, I have learned covering the beat essentially amounts to writing about the 'winners and losers' of migration policy, which in Canada is put together behind closed doors. Some examples. Applied ethicists point to how it's one thing for Canadians to worry about a 'brain drain' — about losing talented citizens to places like the U.S. and Singapore. The more worrisome flip side, for countries in Africa and East Asia, is that Canada is actively draining away their brainy people, be they physicians or entrepreneurs. Then there are the 2.8 million temporary workers in Canada, many of them international students paying exorbitant school fees. Some have been winners, getting solid educations and decent jobs in their homelands or permanent residency in Canada. Others have been exploited for their willingness to work for low wages — which has, in turn, been a losing proposition for other low-skill workers in Canada. The job of tracking migration policies' winners and losers is endless, including covering the squeeze that rapid population growth and the trans-national migration of foreign capital is putting on those trying to pay Canadian housing costs and rents . Suffice it to say, journalists' job is to shine as much light as possible on this vast system, which impacts millions. The ultimate goal is to encourage the creation of policies that best serve the most people, which is one way to advance the common good. dtodd@
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Premier Danielle Smith to greet world leaders arriving in Alberta for G7
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to greet world leaders when they arrive at the Calgary airport for the G7 summit. Leaders are expected to begin touching down Sunday for the three-day event in the Kananaskis wilderness southwest of Calgary. Smith's office says she is scheduled to host representatives from non-member countries Monday evening at a reception in Calgary and hold bilateral meetings throughout the summit. Details of the meetings and who Smith will meet with were not disclosed. The premier has already made international relations a hallmark of her administration. The Alberta premier made headlines in January when she visited U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida home prior to him taking office, in an effort to stave off his tariffs on Canadian goods. Story continues below advertisement In April, Smith met with political counterparts in Japan and South Korea to shore up markets for Alberta's energy and food exports. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Earlier this month, Smith was back in the United States capital for meetings and a forum on energy as Trump doubled his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Smith said at the time there was a 'breakthrough' in conversations with Americans on Canada's role in the United States' quest for energy dominance. The annual Group of Seven (G7) summit brings together the leaders of seven of the world's advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. Canada assumed the presidency of the group for 2025, thus is hosting this year's G7 summit from June 15 to 17 in the Alberta rockies west of Calgary. Story continues below advertisement As the host, Prime Minister Mark Carney can invite any leaders he chooses — even those from countries outside the G7 club. His guest list includes Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
National Observer
2 hours ago
- National Observer
Tories poised to help feds push major projects bill through Parliament
The federal Conservatives are poised to allow the Liberals to rush their trade and major projects bill through the House of Commons by next Friday. Along with removing federal barriers to internal trade, Bill C-5 would allow the federal government to conditionally approve projects it deems 'in the national interest' before regulatory processes take place and also exempt projects from many environmental laws. All other opposition parties are staunchly opposing a government order that aims to force C-5 through the House of Commons before summer break. But with the Conservatives' support, the Liberals may have the majority vote they need. Conservative MPs did not say outright whether they would support the Liberal motion, and took jabs at certain aspects of the legislation. But they did praise some elements of the bill in between criticisms referencing the 'lost Liberal decade' and calls to go further and eliminate environmental regulations. Conservative MP Gérard Deltell even congratulated Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc for tabling the bill, adding that the bill's aim to ensure each project only goes through one environmental assessment is something the Conservatives have been suggesting for years. 'That's a principle we agree with' and 'precisely the approach that the minister is now proposing,' Deltell said in French. The two politicians' brief, friendly exchange illustrated a shared interest on the major projects portion of Bill C-5 and hinted at an unusual Liberal-Conservative alignment after a decade of fierce opposition. The Liberals and Conservatives are joining together to 'deny democracy' by rushing the major projects bill through the Parliament, said BQ MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Québécois MPs were quick to dub the apparent alignment on this bill a Conservative-Liberal coalition. 'What's going on in the House is a bit of a show of Conservatives opposing Liberals and vice versa, but ultimately, it's a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberals working together now, limiting debate on this bill,' BQ MP Andréanne Larouche said in the House of Commons. Despite being a minority government, the Liberals are acting like they have a majority, BQ MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval said on Friday. The government's special time-allocation motion to force Bill C-5 through the House of Commons would greatly limit debate on the proposed legislation, which, along with approving major projects before an environmental assessment, also grants the government sweeping powers to override laws related to those projects. 'Parliamentary committees will just have one and a half days to study this bill,' Barsalou-Duval said. 'Witnesses will appear before the committee without there being enough time to propose amendments. … That is madness, and yet, that is what we are being asked to consider.' The Liberals and Conservatives are joining together to 'deny democracy,' he said. 'They're trying to ram through a bill that has never been debated before the public. No one has been able to look at the bill in detail,' Barsalou-Duval said. BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet said the Liberals adopted a Conservative agenda and are working with the Conservatives to put it in place. 'Given the scale and the importance and the unprecedented scope of this bill, a detailed examination is in order,' Blanchet said in French. 'It shouldn't be done on the back of a napkin on a sunny June 12 day.' LeBlanc and House Leader Steven Mackinnon both justified the time allocation motion by saying the government was elected on a mandate to move quickly on projects of national interest and remove federal trade barriers. Carney said last week his government would not impose a project on a province, but the wording of the bill does not require consensus from provinces. Like the BQ, the NDP is calling on Carney to slow down and split the bill into two sections for study: one on trade barriers and one on project approvals. NDP House Leader Alexandre Boulerice said earlier this week that the bill is 'like Stephen Harper's dreams coming true.' Debate on the time-allocation motion will resume on Monday and the federal government made another motion intended to ensure a vote is forced by the end of the day.
