Canada limiting international students, temporary immigrants
KITCHENER, Ontario — Canada’s broad support for immigration, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said is necessary to counter an aging labor force and low fertility rates, has set the country apart. The United States’ closest neighbor is growing faster than its Group of Seven peers, as well as developing and more fertile countries such as India. In 2023, the population here grew by more than 1.2 million people, up 3.2 percent from the year before — the highest annual increase since 1957. About 98 percent came from immigration. But now, amid a housing affordability crisis and strain on social services, Trudeau’s government is rolling up the welcome mat for some immigrants. It has capped the number of permanent residents it will welcome, announced a temporary limit on international student visas and pledged to shrink the proportion of the population made up of temporary immigrants such as foreign workers. A “massive spike” in temporary immigrants has exceeded “what Canada has been able to absorb,” Trudeau told reporters this month. “That’s something we need to get …