From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observersDate: October 8, 2025Re: Immigration Reform Begins with Simplifying the System Canada’s immigration policy has lost its way. Once a model for attracting skilled newcomers who drove growth and innovation, the system is now consumed with chasing numeric targets and competing objectives. The result is a complex web of programs that undermine wage […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. Canada’s immigration policy has lost its way. Once a model for attracting skilled newcomers who drove growth and innovation, the system is now consumed with chasing numeric targets and competing objectives. The result is a complex web of programs that undermine wage growth, discourage productivity investment and erode public […]
Second Meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council held its second meeting on August 26, 2025, bringing together leading academics and policy experts to provide recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and system design. Members agreed that Canada’s immigration policy has moved in the wrong direction and […]
September 16, 2025 – Canada’s immigration policy continues to move in the wrong direction and requires a fundamental course correction, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Immigration Targets Council. In “Immigration Policy Still in Need of a Course Correction,” the Council – composed of leading academics and policy experts – stresses […]
The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council is comprised of leading academics and policy experts who provide independent recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and the design of its selection system. Meeting annually ahead of the federal government’s November 1st release of its Immigration Levels Plan, the Council reviews demographic, labour market, and policy considerations to […]
From: Mikal SkuterudTo: Labour Market WatchersDate: September 9, 2025Re: A Realistic Strategy to Wean Canadian Businesses Off Low-Skill Foreign Labour Uprooting one’s life to settle in a new country is always daunting, but it’s particularly unnerving when immigration rules are in constant flux. Attracting foreign talent requires a system that is stable, transparent, and predictable. […]
Ottawa won’t meet its goal of reducing temporary immigration at this rate. The Institute’s Parisa Mahboubi asks why the federal government set a target it can’t meet, and tells Michael Hainsworth what needs to be done to bring more skilled labour into the economy.
Ottawa won’t meet its goal of reducing temporary immigration at this rate. The Institute’s Parisa Mahboubi asks why the federal government set a target it can’t meet, and tells Michael Hainsworth what needs to be done to bring more skilled labour into the economy.
From: Parisa Mahboubi and Daniel HiebertTo: Concerned Canadians Date: August 7, 2025Re: The Demographic Slowdown Has Arrived Canada’s population growth has nearly halted – even as the illusion persists that immigration alone can resolve our demographic challenges. New data from Statistics Canada show that from January to April 2025, the population grew by just 20,107 […]
Between Q1 2024 and Q2 2025, the composition of Canada’s temporary resident population shifted significantly. Study permit holders declined by nearly 20 percent, asylum claimants rose by over 40 percent, and work permit holders remained near record highs. As a result, the total temporary resident population fell only modestly, despite the federal government’s pledge to […]
From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observers Date: July 8, 2025Re: Why Set Immigration Targets Canada Can’t Meet? The federal government announced last year that it would reduce the portion of the country’s temporary residents to 5 percent of Canada’s total population by the end of 2026. Framing it as a necessary correction to years of unsustainable […]
Published in The Globe and Mail The federal government announced last year that it would reduce the portion of the country’s temporary residents to 5 per cent of Canada’s total population by the end of 2026. Framing it as a necessary correction to years of unsustainable growth in the number of such immigrants, Ottawa introduced […]
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From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observersDate: October 8, 2025Re: Immigration Reform Begins with Simplifying the System Canada’s immigration policy has lost its way. Once a model for attracting skilled newcomers who drove growth and innovation, the system is now consumed with chasing numeric targets and competing objectives. The result is a complex web of programs that undermine wage […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. Canada’s immigration policy has lost its way. Once a model for attracting skilled newcomers who drove growth and innovation, the system is now consumed with chasing numeric targets and competing objectives. The result is a complex web of programs that undermine wage growth, discourage productivity investment and erode public […] 
The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council is comprised of leading academics and policy experts who provide independent recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and the design of its selection system. Meeting annually ahead of the federal government’s November 1st release of its Immigration Levels Plan, the Council reviews demographic, labour market, and policy considerations to […] 
From: Mikal SkuterudTo: Labour Market WatchersDate: September 9, 2025Re: A Realistic Strategy to Wean Canadian Businesses Off Low-Skill Foreign Labour Uprooting one’s life to settle in a new country is always daunting, but it’s particularly unnerving when immigration rules are in constant flux. Attracting foreign talent requires a system that is stable, transparent, and predictable. […] 
Ottawa won’t meet its goal of reducing temporary immigration at this rate. The Institute’s Parisa Mahboubi asks why the federal government set a target it can’t meet, and tells Michael Hainsworth what needs to be done to bring more skilled labour into the economy. 
From: Parisa Mahboubi and Daniel HiebertTo: Concerned Canadians Date: August 7, 2025Re: The Demographic Slowdown Has Arrived Canada’s population growth has nearly halted – even as the illusion persists that immigration alone can resolve our demographic challenges. New data from Statistics Canada show that from January to April 2025, the population grew by just 20,107 […] 
Between Q1 2024 and Q2 2025, the composition of Canada’s temporary resident population shifted significantly. Study permit holders declined by nearly 20 percent, asylum claimants rose by over 40 percent, and work permit holders remained near record highs. As a result, the total temporary resident population fell only modestly, despite the federal government’s pledge to […] 
From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observers Date: July 8, 2025Re: Why Set Immigration Targets Canada Can’t Meet? The federal government announced last year that it would reduce the portion of the country’s temporary residents to 5 percent of Canada’s total population by the end of 2026. Framing it as a necessary correction to years of unsustainable […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail The federal government announced last year that it would reduce the portion of the country’s temporary residents to 5 per cent of Canada’s total population by the end of 2026. Framing it as a necessary correction to years of unsustainable growth in the number of such immigrants, Ottawa introduced […]