Trudeau says he could have acted faster on immigration changes, blames ‘bad actors’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government could have acted faster on reining in immigration programs, after blaming “bad actors” for gaming the system.

Trudeau released a nearly seven-minute video on YouTube Sunday talking about the recent reduction in permanent residents being admitted to Canada and changes to the temporary foreign worker program.

Over the next two years, the permanent residency stream is being reduced by about 20 per cent to 365,000 in 2027.

In the video, Trudeau talks about the need to increase immigration after pandemic lockdowns ended in order to boost the labour market, saying the move helped avoid a full-blown recession.

But after that, Trudeau says some “bad actors” took advantage of these programs, such as employers trying to avoid hiring Canadians, schools recruiting more international students for the higher tuition money, or scams promising bogus paths to citizenship.

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Trudeau says that he and his team could have acted quicker once it became apparent businesses didn’t need the added labour help anymore.

Trudeau says the goal of the government’s immigration reduction is to help stabilize population growth while housing stocks catch up, and then to consider gradually increasing immigration rates once again.