We just hit 7.5% of our population being Temporary Foreign Workers. The government claims they want to bring that back down to 5%, but even that seems too high.
There was a recent vote in the Parliament of Canada on the topic of immigration rates (and in particular about the Century Initiative goal of raising Canada's population to 100 million): https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/votes/44/1/322?view=par... -- 170 members of the Canadian Parliament supported high immigration, and 138 were opposed to it. It of course fell along partisan lines -- with 100% of members of the Liberal, NDP, and Green parties supporting high immigration, and 100% of the Conservative and BQ parties opposing high immigration.
Rate of immigration is a subjective matter, and any attempt to misrepresent it as being objective is dishonest; since it entirely depends on political opinion. A white nationalist likely sees multi-cultural immigration as terrible (unless those immigrants are all white), whereas many liberal/progressive people have a fairly welcoming attitude towards immigrants (something which is reflected in Canadian federal immigration policy).
> There was a recent vote in the Parliament of Canada on the topic of immigration rates
I think you're misinterpreting that vote. The BQ (a separatist party that often fields antagonistic type bills just to be a nuisance) tabled a bill that claimed that the government was following the Century Initiative. Conservatives went along because it's kind of hilarious -- despite the fact that Conservatives are one of the prime backers of the CI -- and Liberals and NDP went against because they weren't giving the bill credibility. It was not serious. It was not a referendum on immigration levels.
And FWIW, Canada's intake rates massively exceed the goals of the Century Initiative. The CI would be positively responsible compared to what Canada has been doing.
> Rate of immigration is a subjective matter
Canada is objectively suffering extreme problems because of mass migration. The term "population trap" is an objective measure when growth rate is deleterious, and Canada is well within those destructive bounds.
Ignoring tiny countries like the UAE and the fact that they have a gigantic subservient class of Indian worker slaves, immigration needs to work for the host country. To be beneficial for the host country, its culture, its people. Canada's immigration rate traditionally worked great. We got the best of the best, enriching the fabric of Canada. A diverse collection of peoples that came and made Canada better. ~0.5% growth idea, sustainable, and beneficial.
3.2% is absolutely disgusting, and hurts everyone.
> a white nationalist sees immigration as terrible ... many liberal/progressive people have a fairly welcoming attitude towards immigrants
Yeah, this false dichotomy worked for a while, but it no longer carries weight. For years the government pushed this line that one could only have a problem with immigration rates if they're a racist. It's played out.
Mass migration is one of the most destructive forces for progressive policies. Ignoring that many migrants bring hyper-conservatism with them -- and at a high enough intake rate they don't shed those beliefs as quickly -- Canada is basically boot-stomping the working poor and unemployed of Canada. They can't find housing. They can't find jobs. As the percolation happens social services is going to be threadbare because housing costs are increasing by multiples, where any is even available.
You can’t count temporary residents, especially after the Liberal government recently announced that they’re going to cancel many temporary residence visas to bring down the TR population % to 5% (from circa 7.5%). The current federal plan is to effectively expel around 150,000 TR visa holders from Canada each year.
Canada’s permanent residence immigration target is set at 500,000 plus Quebec’s 40,000, for a total of approximately 540,000 permanent residence grants per year. 540,000 of 40 million is 1.35% per year. That’s perfectly reasonable, and in line with historical population growth peaks.
Once you subtract the 150,000 planned TR visa holders’ expulsions per year, the actual immigration rate per year comes down to 390,000 per year. Which is less than 1%.
The biggest problem is NIMBY controlled municipal boards restricting new housing development. Every recent problem Canada is having can be traced back to housing cost. High housing costs have a “trickle down” effect of driving up the cost of basically everything. And this is a solvable problem. Just build more housing.
>You’re being dishonest here ... You can’t count temporary residents
Yes, you absolutely can. There are millions of "temporary" residents here needing housing, clogging transit and hospitals and schools and services. Millions. They don't not exist because they're inconvenient to an argument. And there are almost certainly far, far more than the government is openly acknowledging. Hospitals are filled with NOSTATUS (e.g. no legal right to be in Canada, and with no insurance) elders [0] that many of those temporary residents dragged to Canada, also with zero inclination for them to ever leave. The problem is exponentially getting worse.
And here's a cold, hard truth -- the vast majority have zero inclination of ever leaving. The whole reason there was an absolute explosion in temporary residents is the belief by many that this will be permanent some way or other. And history with this government is that it will. Just do a couple of protests, cry about how exploited you are, and it becomes a PR and are magical social capacity to absorb the world makes it happen. This government is already talking about granting permanent residency to people who once had a temporary residency which expired and they just...stayed. Because there are zero consequences or downsides.
> Every recent problem Canada is having can be traced back to housing cost.
It's a serious, profound problem, but no it isn't everything. Having more people competing for everything has consequences. It's impossible to camp. Parks are absolutely overwhelmed. Traffic is...worse than ever. Our mass transit is now absolutely filled with e-bikes as food delivery workers that fill basements in the suburbs flock to the city.
The thing is, untold millions are fleeing India and elsewhere not because of how great density has turned out. Recreating it here is not a goal most Canadians appreciate. It's okay for every bit of greenland not to be paved over. It's okay that everything isn't pushed to exhaustion.
[0] - A major reason Canada is pursuing mass immigration is the demographic problem of an aging population. The rhetoric falls apart when that young professional brought to Canada then chains in their extended family, dragging the average somehow even higher than it was before. Canada's immigration -- the purpose and rhetoric behind it -- is profoundly dishonest and has run on a playbook that anyone questioning it is just a vile racist and can be discounted. At least until the government pushed it to the point of disaster and that force field fell away. There are going to be a lot of really hard questions and answers about the various programs in the coming years.
There was a recent vote in the Parliament of Canada on the topic of immigration rates (and in particular about the Century Initiative goal of raising Canada's population to 100 million): https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/votes/44/1/322?view=par... -- 170 members of the Canadian Parliament supported high immigration, and 138 were opposed to it. It of course fell along partisan lines -- with 100% of members of the Liberal, NDP, and Green parties supporting high immigration, and 100% of the Conservative and BQ parties opposing high immigration.
Rate of immigration is a subjective matter, and any attempt to misrepresent it as being objective is dishonest; since it entirely depends on political opinion. A white nationalist likely sees multi-cultural immigration as terrible (unless those immigrants are all white), whereas many liberal/progressive people have a fairly welcoming attitude towards immigrants (something which is reflected in Canadian federal immigration policy).