I was not fishing, but I will take it.
It is certainly going to be an honour as well to work with the minister, members of the government and all colleagues in this House on this very important issue.
Mr. Chair, when we think of immigration, of course we think of many things, but at the core of it is finding a way forward to support our economy. That, I think, is central to this question: How can we support our economy?
The immigration system has always played a fundamental role in that regard, but it is also a source of pride and it is an example of how Canada can continue to foster the values that come with diversity, to foster a kind of society that is inclusive, with all of those benefits that flow from the multicultural society that is Canada.
In fact, I speak of my own background here, but I think almost every one of us in this House who does not claim indigenous ancestry can point to immigration. My mother's side of my family came here in the 1950s from Greece, and in my father's case, it was in the early seventies. He also migrated here from Greece to find a better path, to find new opportunities. That is what Canada certainly afforded him.
However, we do have to make sure that there is a balance, and in the throne speech that was recently given by King Charles in the name of the government, we did see that balance articulated. The main estimates reflect this, of course. There is going to be a decrease in the number of permanent residents, along with the number of temporary residents, and that is reflected in the estimates, because there is less funding that is being requested.
Let me just go over those numbers briefly. In 2025, 395,000 permanent residents will be in Canada; in 2026, there will be 380,000, and in 2027, there will be 365,000. The number of temporary residents, meaning international students and temporary foreign workers, will be capped at 5%, as we heard the minister articulate just a few moments ago. They will make up 5% of Canada's population by 2027.
There is a rationale to all of this. We heard from the Canadian population. We saw this government run on a platform that championed many things, but making sure there is that balance, as I mentioned before, in our immigration system was one of those issues. Housing capacity is a factor. Ensuring that public services are sustainable is another factor, and there is also the labour market.
Let me just point to that. I began my comments here tonight by talking about the importance of the economy. When we do that, we cannot ignore the labour market. It is central to the economy, and its needs can be met, in large part, by immigration. In fact, we see areas that are in need that are served by immigration, which will continue. I am thinking in particular of the health care sector and the construction sector. I will talk about residential construction as well.
First of all, with regard to health care, immigrants account for no less than 25% of all health care sector workers in Canada. That is a little-known fact, but a very important one. It speaks to the issue that we are taking up here tonight. Let us break that down a bit: 25% of registered nurses and 42% of nurse aides and related occupations are immigrants, as well as 43% of pharmacists, 37% of physicians, 45% of dentists and 61% of dental technologists and related occupations. This, of course, comes from the website of the IRCC. It reflects, as I say, the importance of immigration in ensuring that labour market needs are met.
Certainly, our health care system is challenged in a number of different ways. We do hear from the provinces about the importance of making sure that roles are fulfilled. There is a continued need for nurses and doctors. I also mentioned pharmacists. There are many examples that the immigration system can serve. Of course there will be opportunities, and there are opportunities, for Canadian-born citizens, but the immigration system is vital as well.
Let us talk about construction and, as I said, residential construction. Prior to this role, I had the pleasure of working as the parliamentary secretary responsible for housing. Housing is an issue in my community. Housing is an issue, a challenge—a crisis, in fact—across the country. We have to do better to ensure that market-based housing in the form of rentals and ultimately home ownership is more affordable for Canadians, in particular young Canadians, but we also have to address the challenge of homelessness. We have to make sure that people are off the street and given a roof to live under and are provided with the wraparound supports that are so vital in ensuring the transition to something better and the recovery that comes along with that.
As far as residential construction is concerned, again from the IRCC's data, immigrants account for 23% of all general contractors of residential buildings. Let me break that down further: 20% of all roofers are immigrants, 16% of all electricians, 15% of all carpenters, 14% of plumbers and 12% of steamfitters and pipefitters. There are many other examples, but I choose to focus on just these. They are absolutely central to homebuilding.
There are home builders in the Chair's community and home builders in my community. I acknowledge the incredible advocacy of the London Home Builders' Association, which feeds up through the national Canadian Home Builders' Association. They have been absolutely instrumental in championing policies that will ultimately lead to more homes being built. Along the way, what they have said is that we have to make sure we have the labour needed to build those homes. That is why immigration can serve this need and why we see in the main estimates tonight that there are pathways to ensuring that particular outcome.
Finally, before I ask questions of the minister, to ensure public confidence in the immigration system, I am glad to see the estimates fund integrity measures such as expanded biometric collection to help with identity verification. Of course, that is important to help counter fraud. We do have this focus in the main estimates. It is about fairness. This last point does relate to fairness. It is about ensuring that diversity, yes, is at the core of our country. The immigration system allows for that in spades.
Also, I return again to the point I began with about the economy. The economy is challenged around the world. We see headwinds not of our own making. What the United States is doing with respect to tariffs is completely unacceptable. I am glad to see in this House, and I hope it continues, that there is a spirit of unity, which I heard members speak of in and outside the House, in fact.
We see provincial premiers collaborating with the federal government in ways that, frankly, we have not seen in many years. We hear municipal governments wanting to work with the federal government. We need to continue to work in that vein, but the immigration system can be a fundamental part of that in making sure there is economic success, particularly by ensuring that labour market needs are met. That has always been the purpose of the immigration system. It needs to continue, as I said, in that kind of way.
To the minister, first of all, can she talk about labour market needs and in particular how the changes in the temporary resident numbers and the temporary foreign worker numbers help to focus on this issue of labour market needs?
