擒数网 （随信APP) | 加拿大减少移民人数，因为公众担忧不断增加。

加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多宣布了移民限制，称现在是时候进行“调整”了 - 版权AFP戴夫·陈

加拿大周四表示，为了“暂停”人口增长，将大幅削减移民目标，这标志着随着对移民的公众支持下降而发生的转变。

这标志着一个长期以来被视为移民目的地的国家的重大转变，包括来自发展中国家寻求更好生活条件的经济移民。

加拿大的人口从2023年到2024年增长了3.2％，这是自1957年以来最大的年度增长，目前达到4100万，国家统计机构表示。

这种增长在一定程度上是由新移民潮推动的。

在宣布限制措施时，总理贾斯汀·特鲁多表示，移民潮帮助加拿大经济从新冠疫情造成的干扰中反弹，确保了充足的劳动力供应 - 但是现在是进行“调整”的时候了。

“今天，我们宣布我们将在未来三年减少引进的移民数量，这将导致未来两年人口增长暂停，”特鲁多表示。

特鲁多表示，加拿大需要稳定其人口，让“从各级政府有时间追赶，有时间进行必要的投资，以适应未来更多的人口，包括在卫生保健、住房和社会服务方面进行投资。”

移民部此前计划让2025年和2026年有50万新的永久居民在加拿大定居。

但是新的目标修订为明年395,000人，2026年380,000人。2027年的目标设定为365,000人。

移民部长马克·米勒称该计划“可能是其类别中的第一个”，在广泛努力控制加拿大人口增长方面。

根据2021年的最新人口普查，加拿大人口中23％是外国出生的。

加拿大统计局表示，截至2021年，大多数移民来自亚洲和中东，但越来越多的人来自非洲。

统计机构表示，近五分之一的新移民是在印度出生的。

– 反移民情绪？–

上个月的一项由Environics研究所进行的关于公众对移民态度的调查发现，“在四分之一世纪以来，加拿大人中首次清楚地认为移民太多了。”

调查发现，58％的加拿大人认为国家接受了太多移民，比2023年增加了14个百分点。

上周公布的数据显示，Abacus数据发现，每两名加拿大人中就有一人说移民正在损害这个国家。

Abacus数据还指出，加拿大人对移民影响的担忧主要与他们认为缺乏必要资源有关，尤其是价格合理的住房。

米勒预测，将移民目标下调将解决住房供应缺口，使加拿大到2027年需要建造的住房数量减少67万个。

“这是一个重大进展，”米勒告诉记者。

– 政治“惊慌”？–

对于这种转变表示担忧，加拿大商会警告说，鉴于加拿大人口老龄化、生育率低和婴儿潮一代的大规模退休，移民是加拿大“未来唯一的劳动力增长来源。”

“明显减少我们的劳动力队伍将影响加拿大各地的数千家雇主，他们正在努力找到所需的劳动力，”该组织在一份声明中表示。

反对派领袖皮埃尔·普瓦利耶尔（Pierre Poilievre）表示，他所在的保守党最近在民意调查中击败了特鲁多的自由党，他表示总理正拼命试图提高自己的声望，因为他正面临党内叛乱和国家支持下降的局面。

“我们不能指望贾斯汀·特鲁多会信守这些仓促、慌张的最后承诺，”普瓦利耶尔在多伦多告诉记者。

明年加拿大将举行选举。

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the curbs, saying the time had come for 'adjustments' - Copyright AFP Dave Chan

Canada said Thursday it was significantly curbing immigration targets in an effort to “pause” population growth, a shift that comes as public support for immigration declines.

This marks a big pivot for a country with a long-standing reputation as a destination for immigrants, including economic migrants from the developing world seeking better living conditions.

Canada’s population jumped 3.2 percent from 2023 to 2024, the biggest annual rise since 1957, and now stands at 41 million, the national statistic agency said.

The rise was partly fueled by a wave of new arrivals.

Announcing the curbs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the influx helped the Canadian economy bounce back from disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic by ensuring robust labor supply — but the time had come for “adjustments.”

“Today, we’re announcing that we will reduce the number of immigrants we bring in over the next three years, which will result in a pause in the population growth over the next two years,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau said Canada needed to stabilize its population to give “all levels of government time to catch up, time to make the necessary investments in health care, in housing, (and) in social services to accommodate more people in the future.”

The immigration ministry had previously planned to let 500,000 new permanent residents settle in the country in 2025 and 2026.

But the new targets were revised down to 395,000 next year and 380,000 for 2026. It set the 2027 target at 365,000.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the plan “probably the first of its kind,” in terms of its broad efforts to control population growth in Canada.

According to the last census in 2021, 23 percent of Canada’s population was foreign-born.

Statistic Canada said that as of 2021 most immigrants were from Asia and the Middle East, but an increasing share were coming from Africa.

Nearly one of five recent immigrants were born in India, the statistics agency said.

– Anti-immigrant sentiment? –

A survey last month from the Environics Institute on public attitudes toward immigration found that “for the first time in a quarter century, a clear majority of Canadians say there is too much immigration.”

Fifty-eight percent of Canadians believe the country takes in too many immigrants, up 14 percentage points from 2023, the survey found.

In figures released last week, Abacus Data found that one of every two Canadians say immigration is harming the country.

The Abacus figures also noted that concern among Canadians about the impact of immigration is mostly linked to unease regarding a perceived lack of essential resources, notably affordable housing.

Miller predicted that revising immigration targets downwards will address the housing supply gap, reducing by 670,000 the number of homes Canada needs to build by 2027.

“That is significant,” Miller told reporters.

– Political ‘panic’? –

Voicing concern about the shift, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned immigration is Canada’s “only source of workforce growth in the near future,” given its ageing population, low fertility rates, and waves of retirements from the baby-boomer generation.

“Significantly decreasing our labour pool will impact thousands of these employers across Canada struggling to find the workforce they need,” the group said in a statement.

Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, whose Conservative Party is trouncing Trudeau’s Liberals in recent polling, said the prime minister is desperately trying to boost his popularity as he confronts a revolt inside his own party and declining support nationally.

“We can’t expect that Justin Trudeau will keep any of these frantic, panicked, last-minute promises,” Poilievre told reporters in Toronto.

Canada is due to hold elections next year.