Madam Speaker, we are adapting our immigration plan to suit the needs of Canadian families and communities today. For the first time in our nation's history, we have set targets for temporary residents in our immigration levels plan. That means that all temporary resident programs, like those for international students and temporary foreign workers, will have limits, just as there are for permanent resident programs each year.
By taking these steps, we are helping to preserve the integrity of our immigration system, responding to community needs and ensuring that newcomers to Canada are set up for success, with access to adequate resources to support them.
We have also reduced our permanent resident targets. Our focus for new permanent residents will be to attract the skilled workers we need to build new homes and provide patient care, and to focus on transitioning temporary residents to permanent residents. These are workers and families who are already here, are supporting our economy, have already adjusted to life in Canada and are best positioned for success over the long term.
The latest levels plan reaffirms our commitment to reducing temporary resident volumes to 5% of Canada's population by the end of 2026. These reductions are the result of a series of changes over the past year, including a cap on the number of international students and tightened eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers.
On that side of the House, the leader of the official opposition speaks from both sides of his mouth. Two years ago, during the pandemic, he said he would “remove the gatekeepers to allow faster immigration”. Just this year, he went to a community event and said we need to end deportation. He said, “We have a worker shortage in Canada. We have a demographic problem, our population is too old...we need these workers in our country.”
A few months later, the leader of the the official opposition went to a different community and said the opposite. He promises different things to different people. Canadians cannot trust a word he says.
On this side of the House, we are committed to ensuring that everyone, including newcomers, has access to the quality jobs, homes and supports that they need.