The Canadian government has stopped issuing work permits to foreign visitors, a policy that had been put in place during the Covid-19 epidemic, Canadian public broadcaster CBC reported on Friday (30.08.2024).
The decision is the latest by Canadian authorities to limit the number of foreign workers in the Canadian economy, as well as asylum seekers arriving in the country.
The measure was introduced in August 2020 to help foreign visitors who were in Canada and could not return to their places of origin due to border closures. Since then, 6,549 people have applied for work permits under the program and 4,761 have received authorization.
The Canadian government had initially announced that it would stop issuing work permits to foreign visitors in February 2025.
But 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 that has not been reported by the media until now.
In recent months, the rapidly rising cost of living, the shortage of affordable housing and the high unemployment rate among new immigrants have sparked protests across broad sectors of Canadian society demanding changes to the country’s immigration policies.
In response to criticism, the Canadian government has changed regulations for accepting refugee claims, imposed limits on the number of foreign students in the country, and most recently announced reductions to the temporary foreign worker program with the goal of reducing the proportion of temporary foreign residents in the total population from the current 6.1% to 5%.
The number of temporary foreign residents in Canada is currently 2.8 million, compared to just 1.4 million two years ago.
The Canadian government has also said it will announce changes in the coming months to reduce permanent immigration.
In 2022, Canada has authorized the arrival of 431,645 immigrants and in 2023, 465,000 immigrants. In 2024, the number will rise to 485,000 and a year later, it will reach 500,000 immigrants.
gs (efe, RCI)
