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Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated that Canada is poised to resume a controlled increase in its population, according to a recent interview with the New York Times. The prime minister made this statement as the government prepares to release its immigration levels plan for the next three years. Carney emphasized that the country has taken back control of its immigration system, which had previously seen rapid population growth under the Trudeau administration.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner disagreed, stating that the government should aim to decrease immigration levels instead. The current plan aims to reduce the intake of permanent residents from 500,000 annually to a lower figure, while also capping the number of temporary workers and students admitted to the country.

The government has set a target of reducing the temporary resident population to five percent of the total population by the end of the following year. The C.D. Howe Institute's immigration targets council, consisting of academics and former government officials, recommends a continued decrease in the number of arrivals over the next three years, with lower targets for permanent residents in 2028 and 2029.

Carney noted that Canada's GDP is shrinking due to limited population growth, currently estimated at 0.5 percent year-over-year. Mikal Skuterlud, a council member and economics professor, warned against listening to business lobbyists and suggested that businesses should address labor shortages by offering higher wages rather than relying on immigration.

The council also strongly recommends tracking all permanent resident admissions through a single target number and aims to reduce the temporary resident population to three percent of the population.