Canada’s population has grown at one of the fastest rates in the world over the past year—3.2%—mainly because of a sharp influx in the number of foreign students and temporary foreign workers.
According to new data from Statistics Canada, the nation’s population increased by 1.25 million in the year ending October 1st, making it the largest number in any 12-month period since its creation in 1867, says an article in Moneycontrol.com
Foreign migration contributed to the majority of the increase, the business portal reported. In the last year, Canada welcomed 454,590 new permanent residents while also receiving 804,690 non-permanent residents, which include temporary employees, international students and, to a lesser degree, refugees.
The Canadian government does not currently cap the number of visas granted to international students, but it does set annual targets for permanent residents (465,000 people in 2023). Foreign students are now a major source of income for colleges and universities, with tuition costs far higher than that for Canadian students.
The last time Canada’s population increased more quickly was in the late 1950s, during the country’s post-war baby boom and when it was taking in Hungarian refugees who were escaping Soviet persecution. It is growing far more quickly than any of the Group of Seven countries, China or India. Data from 2021 reveals that most countries growing at a similar rate are in Africa.
However, with borrowing costs at two-decade highs, the rapid immigration wave is keeping a floor under home prices.
Rental prices, which increased at an annual rate of 7.4% in November, are another indicator of the pressure on the population.
In response to public outcry over the skyrocketing cost of housing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has made only modest efforts to reduce the number of temporary residents, Moneycontrol.com added.
Foreign student visa procedures will change according to a framework unveiled by Immigration Minister Marc Miller. Though he recently threatened that the government would start limiting visas if provinces don’t crack down on “diploma mills” that are churning out phoney degrees to foreign students, he has still resisted imposing an overall cap on them.
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