The Government of Canada stopped granting work permits to foreign visitors, a policy that was put in place during the Covid-19 epidemic, in response to criticism of its immigration policies.
The decision is the latest taken by Canadian authorities to limit the number of foreign workers in the Canadian economyas well as asylum seekers arriving in the country, Canadian public broadcaster reported on Friday, CBC.
The measure was also established in August 2020 to assisting foreign visitors who were in Canada and were unable to return to their places of origin due to the closure of the borders.
Since then, 6,549 people applied for permits work under the program and 4,761 received authorization.
The Canadian government had initially announced that it would stop issuing work permits to foreign visitors in February 2025.
However, Canada unexpectedly cancelled the measure last Wednesday “to recalibrate the number of temporary residents in Canada and preserve the integrity of the immigration system,” the Ministry of Immigration said in a statement.
In recent months, the rapid rise in the cost of living, the shortage of affordable housing and the high unemployment rate among new immigrants have sparked protests across broad sectors of society Canadian demanding changes to the country’s immigration policies.
In response to criticism, the Canadian government has changed regulations for Acceptance of asylum applicationsimposed limits on the number of foreign students in the country and most recently announced reductions to the temporary foreign worker program with the aim of reducing the proportion of temporary foreign residents in relation to the total population from the current 6.1% to 5%.
Currently, the number of temporary foreign residents in Canada is 2.8 million people, when Two years ago the figure was only 1.4 million..
The Canadian government also said it would announce changes in the coming months to reduce permanent immigration.
In 2022, Canada authorized the arrival of 431,645 immigrants into the country and in 2023, 465 thousand immigrants. In 2024, the number will rise to 485 thousand and a year later, it will reach 500 thousand immigrants. (EFE)
