Question Period Note: Housing and Immigration

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

• Slower population growth reduces the amount of new housing needed to meet demand, allowing supply to catch up and narrowing the housing supply gap.
• Under our Levels Plan we are returning overall immigration to sustainable levels, and we’re seeing results. Our robust plan is already helping reduce the demand for housing across the country.
• CMHC reported that pressure on the rental housing market eased in 2025. Vacancy rates in our major cities rose to 3.1%, and that was due in part to lower levels of temporary migration.
• Immigration is also helping to address the construction labour shortage by bringing in the workers we need to build homes through a variety of temporary and permanent pathways.
If pressed:
• Immigration is critical in addressing skills gaps in the construction sector when Canadians are not available. Immigrants account for 23% of all general contractors and builders in the residential construction sector. As of December 2025, there were more than 38,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada working in construction sector occupations.

• Priority 4 of the Government’s Mandate Letter is: Making housing more affordable by unleashing the power of public-private cooperation, catalysing a modern housing industry, and creating new careers in the skilled trades.

• On September 14, 2025, the government launched Build Canada Homes—a new federal agency that will build affordable housing at scale. With an initial investment of $13 billion over five years on a cash basis, starting in 2025-26, Build Canada Homes will deploy capital to supercharge the housing industry.

• IRCC plays an important but complementary role in addressing housing supply issues, by bringing in workers needed to help address labour market shortages in the skilled trades sector, and workers with needed skills in new and innovative construction techniques.

• At the same time, immigration contributes to increased demand for housing. IRCC considers demands and pressures on Canada’s housing market when developing targets for the annual Immigration Levels Plan, which helps ensure that targets for temporary and permanent residents are sustainable and aligned with Canada’s domestic capacity.

• While population growth is a key factor in housing affordability, other challenges – such as labour shortages, low productivity, investor activity, material costs, regulatory delays and municipal policies, particularly development fees – also play a role. Addressing the crisis will require a mix of policy tools..

• Since 2017, Canada has invested approximately $1.8 billion through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP). As of October 1, 2025, IRCC no longer directly houses asylum claimants at hotels. Program funding is now tied to provincial and municipal commitments to sustainable and cost-effective housing solutions.

Housing, Immigration Planning

• The 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan:
o reduces temporary resident targets from 673,650 in 2025 to 385,000 (or approximately 43%) in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.

o stabilizes permanent resident admission targets at 380,000 per year for three years, down from 395,000 in 2025, while increasing the share of economic migrants from 59% to 64% in 2027 and 2028.

• These targets support Government commitments to reduce Canada’s temporary population to less than 5% of the population by the end of 2027 and stabilize permanent resident admissions at less than 1% of the population beyond 2027.
• Additional measures to help achieve the less than 5% non-permanent resident target include:

o Managing International Student Volumes: IRCC introduced a study permit cap through Ministerial Instructions in January 2024, with each province and territory receiving a set number of spaces under the cap. Most applicants must include a provincial or territorial attestation letter with their study permit applications, which the provinces and territories distribute in a way that meets their needs.

o Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) reform: In 2024, IRCC updated the PGWP program by introducing minimum language requirements and targeting in-demand fields of study. The PGWP is now better positioned to create a pipeline of student graduates whose skills align with Canada’s long-term labour needs.

Limiting work permits for spouses of temporary residents: IRCC has tightened work permit eligibility for spouses of international students and temporary foreign workers.
• According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s population decreased by -0.2% in the third quarter of 2025. This was primarily attributable to a significant decline in Canada’s non-permanent resident population, highlighting the continued impact of reduced temporary immigration levels.

• CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report noted that softened market conditions eased rent pressures in 2025. Vacancy rates in Canada’s largest census metropolitan areas rose to 3.1%, up from 2.2% in 2024. This was due to an increase in supply of rental units, and decrease in demand, in part from lower levels of temporary migration.

Immigration pathways for construction workers

• As announced in Budget 2025, the International Talent Attraction Strategy and Action Plan will position the immigration system to meet strategic labour market needs, ensuring Canada has the talent required to drive innovation and growth in our strategic industries. The Strategy will focus on attracting the best talent in the world to build our economy and to address labour market shortages in specific sectors, including in construction and skilled trades.

• In recognition of the construction sector’s specific needs, IRCC has taken several steps:

Temporary Residents:
o In February 2025, IRCC launched a temporary measure to allow certain registered construction apprentices with valid work permits to complete their studies without needing a study permit. This streamlines the permit process and allows apprentices to gain skills they need to contribute to infrastructure projects more quickly.

o Construction is exempted from the general 10% cap under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) as well as the refusal to process policy that applies to all Census Metropolitan Areas with an unemployment rate of over 6%. These exemptions mean that construction employers anywhere can hire up to 20% of their workforce as temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions at a specific work location.

 As of December 2025, there were more than 38,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada working in construction sector occupations. The vast majority have come through the TFWP.

Permanent Residents:

• IRCC has taken significant steps to support labour market needs for construction professionals.
• In 2025, over 7,610 economic principal applicants with a primary occupation in select construction occupations were admitted, representing 6% of all economic principal applicants

• The top 5 occupations of those admitted from 2023 to 2025 were:
o Welders and related machine operators
o Material handlers
o Carpenters
o Construction managers
o Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics

• IRCC has prioritized the selection of candidates with experience in trades occupations through Express Entry.
o 4,906 Invitations to Apply were issued to these candidates in 2025.

Regional Economic Immigration Programs

• Regional economic immigration programs such as the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), and the Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots (RCIP and FCIP) offer pathways to permanent residence for workers at a wide-range of skills, including those in construction.

• Regional economic immigration programs admitted approximately 3,920 principal applicants in 2025 (3.1% of all economic principal applicants admitted) in select construction occupations.

o 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, in 2023, IRCC officials worked closely with Nova Scotia in designing the Critical Construction Worker Pilot under their PNP, which was launched in October 2023.

o The Atlantic Immigration Program is another regional economic immigration program designed with the needs of key sectors in mind. This employer-driven program has flexibilities incorporated to respond to critical labour market needs, such as the construction sector.

o The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP) were launched on January 30, 2025, based on lessons learned from the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). These pilots are helping 18 rural and Francophone-minority communities across 7 provinces attract and retain newcomers with the right skills to fill critical jobs, including in the construction sector.
 In 2025, all participating communities identified trades and transport as a priority sector, with construction trades helpers/labourers and carpenters being among the most common priority occupations under the pilots.

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