OTTAWA, Canada— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing calls to strengthen Canada’s border controls as the country’s open approach to immigration worsens a housing shortage.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault said it’s time for Trudeau to reconsider his welcoming message to potential new arrivals. Canada’s second-most populous province has seen a recent rise in asylum seekers entering from the U.S. at an irregular border crossing south of Montreal.
Public services can’t handle all the newcomers, Legault said. “We’ve exceeded our capacity to welcome. We have problems with housing, places in schools, staff in hospitals,” the premier told reporters in Quebec City.
He mentioned a tweet the prime minister sent after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, saying Canada would always welcome those fleeing persecution and war. “It’s time for Trudeau to send a new tweet saying not to come,” Legault said.
Faced with a labor shortage and aging population, Canada’s government plans to welcome 465,000 new permanent residents this year and increase the annual target to half a million by 2025. Non-permanent arrivals, such as foreign students, are swelling the numbers further. The resulting population growth, which is the fastest among Group of Seven countries, is driving up rents in the country’s biggest cities.
Though the government has vowed to double the pace of home construction, demand for accommodation is far outstripping supply. Apartments have become extremely hard to find, with the vacancy rate on rental buildings now below 2% — the lowest since 2001.
Legault isn’t alone in his criticism. The head of one of Canada’s biggest banks warned this week of potential social trouble if immigration, housing and labor policies aren’t brought into better alignment.
“New Canadians want to establish a life here, they need a roof over their heads. We need to get that policy right and not wave the flag saying, isn’t it great that everyone wants to come to Canada,” Victor Dodig, chief executive officer of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, told a Toronto business audience on Tuesday. “The whole ecosystem has to work. If they can’t get a house, if they can’t get a doctor, if they are struggling to get a job, that’s not so good.”
(With assistance from Mathieu Dion.)
