Argitis: Canada’s great immigration experiment is ending
Canada’s population growth has nearly come to a halt, with just 20,000 people added in the first quarter of 2025 — a rate among the lowest since 1946. As Theo Argitis, editor-at-large at The Hub notes, this slowdown marks a dramatic shift in federal immigration policy, which the government tightened late last year after a post-pandemic surge in newcomers strained housing, services and the labour market.
The previous boom saw the number of non-permanent residents grow five-fold since 2015, topping three million. Now, the government plans to reduce that figure by about one million over two years, while lowering permanent resident admissions from 485,000 in 2024 to 365,000 by 2027. As a result, several provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia, saw their populations decline.
The reversal is already affecting the economy, from telecom and banking to university funding. “You’re going to see a ton of research on this, no question,” said labour economist Mikal Skuterud. “It’s like this little experiment here in Canada that no other country has done to this extent.”
Though the policy shift is seen as a correction, it could have lasting political effects, particularly among younger Canadians, who now appear more open to curbing immigration in favour of tighter labour markets and affordable housing.
Argitis writes that the former Trudeau government’s miscalculation stemmed partly from pandemic distortions and an overambitious agenda. Whether Prime Minister Mark Carney learns from this “great immigration experiment” remains uncertain, he says.
