Question Period Note: HOUSING AND IMMIGRATION

Canada is experiencing unprecedented housing pressures, which requires collaboration between all levels of government, including provinces, territories and municipalities, and the private sector to address the underlying issues and ensure that Canadians and newcomers have access to housing.

• Housing is a complex issue, and the solution to Canada’s housing pressures will require all governments and the private sector working together.
• While immigration increases demand for housing, it also contributes to addressing labour market needs. Through measures like category-based selection, IRCC is helping bring in construction workers to put shovels in the ground and build new homes when qualified Canadians are not available.
• Thoughtful immigration policies, like the cap on international students and the plan to reduce overall temporary resident volumes to 5% of the Canadian population, are important measures to help ensure sustainable growth and the well-being of both newcomers and Canadians.
• Reducing the numbers will help alleviate some pressures in the housing market. In fact, lower PR admissions are expected to reduce the housing supply gap by approximately 670 000 units by the end of 2027.
If pressed
In the first nine months of 2024, the number of international students coming to Canada was down 43% compared with 2023. Measures to cap international student volumes are already resulting in lower rental prices in some areas of the country that saw large numbers of students in recent years. For example, in Vancouver, one- and two-bedroom apartment rental prices are down more than 10%, and Toronto over 8%.

If pressed on PBO Report:
• The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s report indeed reconfirms that there will be a substantial decline in the housing gap as a result of this year’s recently announced Levels Plan. Their report estimates a reduction in the housing supply gap of 45%.
• The estimates shared in the report released by the PBO are in line with IRCC’s own estimates and expectations regarding the impact of this year’s Levels Plan on the housing supply gap.
• Our conclusions stand: the Immigration Levels Plan is reducing the housing supply gap, thus supporting the sustainability of our immigration system and setting newcomers up for success.
• As we monitor the impact of our policies closely, we are optimistic that all the changes introduced this year will be adequately reflected in the coming months.

If pressed on levels and construction:
Demand for housing has outpaced investments for several decades—the Government of Canada knows that immigration is part of the solution and that welcoming the construction workers needed to build new homes can mitigate this issue.

IRCC is supporting homebuilders through measures like category-based selection. As part of this initiative, IRCC is increasing the number of invitations to individuals with work experience in the trades. Between June 2023 and October 2024, over 6,100 invitations were sent to individuals with experience in the skilled trades (including carpenters, contractors, plumbers, etc.).
To help homebuilders find the workers they need, this year’s immigration levels plan also includes federal economic priorities for eligible candidates with specific skills, training and language ability, through categories established in the Express Entry system. One of the 2025 priority categories is trade occupations, which is aimed at alleviating housing pressures

• On April 16, 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance tabled Budget 2024, titled Fairness for every generation. The 2024 federal budget is the government’s plan to build more homes, faster, help make life cost less, and grow the economy in a way that helps every generation get ahead.

• Budget 2024 included a number of housing investments that aim to stimulate innovative construction, protect renters, and train and recruit the next generation of skilled trades workers. Highlights include:

o Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund
• $6 billion over 10 years to launch the fund, to accelerate the construction and upgrading of housing infrastructure, and to improve densification.

o Housing Accelerator Fund
• $400 million over four years, in additional investments to top up the Housing Accelerator Fund to help fast track 12,000 new homes in the next 3 years.

o Apartment Construction Loan Program
• $15 billion in new loan funding for the Apartment Construction Loan Program to build more rental apartments.

o Foreign Credential Recognition Program
• $50 million over 2 years to streamline foreign credential recognition within the construction and health care sectors.

o Extending GST relief to student residences
• $19 million over five years, and $5 million per year ongoing, for the removal of GST on new student residences for not-for-profit universities, public colleges, and school authorities to alleviate pressures to student housing projects.

o New Rapid Housing Stream
• $976 million over 5 years and $24 million ongoing to launch the new stream under the Affordable Housing Fund, to build deeply affordable housing, supportive housing and shelters for the most vulnerable.

o Federal Homelessness Strategy
• $1.3 billion over four years in additional investments for Canada’s Homelessness Strategy to support emergency funding over the winter for those experiencing or at risk of unsheltered homelessness, including those living in encampments.

• The Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities released Canada’s Housing 2030 Plan to the public on April 12, 2024 to help respond to the housing crisis. The plan contains three themes: (1) Building more homes; (2) Making it easier to own or rent a home; and (3): Helping Canadians who can’t afford a home.

• According to Statistics Canada, in 2023, Canada experienced its highest annual population growth rate since 1957, at 3.2%. Most of Canada's population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration. Without temporary immigration, Canada's population growth would have been almost three times less (+1.2%).

Housing, Immigration Planning

• The Strategic Immigration Review report announced a commitment to a broader approach to immigration levels planning to better align with investment in housing, among other areas.

• On March 21, 2024, it was announced that temporary residents will be included in the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, with a targeted decrease in the temporary resident population to 5% of Canada’s overall population over the next three years.

• In late 2023, the Government of Canada introduced reforms to the International Student Program to align the number of international students with Canada’s capacity to support them, including better access to safe and affordable housing.

• In January 2024, a cap on most study permit application was established through Ministerial Instructions, with each province and territory receiving a set number of spaces under the cap. Applicants must submit a provincial attestation letter with their study permit application, and provinces and territories are responsible for issuing these letters and managing their allocated spaces.

• In efforts to manage temporary migration, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages announced in March 2024 measures adjusting the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to ensure the program continues to only be used in cases where there are no workers here in Canada that can fill the necessary role.

• The 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan reduces permanent resident targets. Compared to last year’s plan, the plan is
o reducing from 500,000 permanent residents to 395,000 in 2025
o reducing from 500,000 permanent residents to 380,000 in 2026
o setting a target of 365,000 permanent residents in 2027

• In addition, targets for new temporary resident arrivals have been set in line with the reduction of the share of the population to 5% by 2026: 673,650 in 2025, 516,600 in 2026, and 543,600 in 2027.

• On November 15, The Parliamentary Budget Officer released an estimate of the impact of the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan on the housing supply gap in Canada. PBO estimates that the plan will reduce the gap in 2030 by 534,000 units (45 per cent), compared to IRCC’s estimates of a reduction of 670,000 units.

o The difference between estimates reflects several factors including assumed age, region, different time horizons and household structures.

Facilitative pathways for construction workers
• Category based selection was launched in Express Entry in June 2023; Between June 2023 and October 2024, IRCC invited 6,100 candidates through four trade category invitations rounds to apply for permanent residence.

• Temporary Foreign Workers: From January to September 2024, IRCC issued over 30,266 work permits to temporary foreign workers in construction sector occupations, with the majority coming under the TFWP. As well, construction is a sector exempted from the 20% cap on the proportion of temporary foreign workers that can be hired in low-wage positions at a specific work location.

• Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP): IRCC supports provinces and territories in developing targeted initiatives to fill critical labour market needs in the construction sector to support housing development. For instance, last summer, IRCC officials worked closely with Nova Scotia in designing the Critical Construction Worker Pilot under their PNP, which was launched in October 2023.

• The Atlantic Immigration Program and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot are also regional economic immigration programs designed with the needs of key sectors in mind and has flexibilities to respond to critical labour market needs, such as the construction sector.

• Global Skills Missions: IRCC will organize global skills missions in collaboration with government representatives, employers and stakeholders, to recruit the talent Canada needs.

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