Canada will reduce immigration targets as Trudeau acknowledges his policy failed
Toronto, Oct 25 (AP) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canada will significantly reduce the number of new immigrants it allows into the country after acknowledging that his government failed to get the balance right coming out of the pandemic.
Trudeau's Liberal government was criticised for its plan to allow 500,000 new permanent residents into the country in each of the next two years. On Thursday, he said next year's target will now be 395,000 new permanent residents and that the figure will drop to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
“In the tumultuous times as we emerged from the pandemic, between addressing labour needs and maintaining population growth, we didn't get the balance right,” Trudeau said.
“Immigration is essential for Canada's future, but it must be controlled and it must be sustainable.”
Trudeau, who is facing calls from within his own party not to seek a fourth term, has endured mounting criticism over his immigration policies and the negative impact that population growth has had on housing affordability.
He said his government will reduce the number of immigrants Canada brings in over the next three years, and that this will freeze population growth over the next two years. Canada reached 41 million people in April. The population was 37.5 million in 2019.
“Even Justin Trudeau wants to close Canada's Borders,” Donald Trump wrote Thursday on social media while arguing for tougher border measures in the US.
Trudeau said Canada needs to stabilise its population growth to allow all levels of government to make necessary changes to health care, housing and social services so that it can accommodate more people in the future.
Trudeau also blamed others.
“Far too many corporations have chosen to abuse our temporary measures, exploiting foreign workers while refusing to hire Canadians for a fair wage,” Trudeau said. “All while under the watch of provinces, some colleges and universities are bringing in more international students than communities can accommodate, treating them as an expendable means to line their own pockets. That's unacceptable, and it needs to change.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the lower immigration numbers will help with the country's housing shortage.
He also acknowledged the change in public opinion about immigration.
“That volume that we have put forward is of concern,” Miller said.
Miller said the government sees the pressures facing Canadians, and that it must adapt its policies accordingly.
“We are an open country, but not everyone can come to this country,” he said, noting that Canada will continue to welcome outsiders and that the government's immigration targets remain ambitious.
Trudeau's government has long touted Canada's immigration policy and how Canada is better than peer countries in welcoming newcomers and integrating them into the economy.
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, accused Trudeau of destroying the national consensus on immigration.
“He has destroyed our immigration system through his own personal incompetence and destroyed 150 years of common sense consensus with the Liberals and Conservatives on that subject," Poilievre said.
“He cannot fix what he broke on immigration and housing or anything else because he is busy fighting his own caucus,” he added.
Poilievre was referring to calls by some lawmakers from Trudeau's own party to not run for a fourth term. Those calls represent one of the biggest tests of Trudeau's political career, but he said Thursday that he intends to stay on through the next election.
Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said the Trudeau government messed up badly on immigration.
"The government's logic — to grow the economy and sustain an aging Canadian population by bringing in more young immigrants — was sound. But Ottawa has little control over meeting the housing, health, education, and other welfare needs of residents, whether they are citizens or immigrants,” Wiseman said.
"These are all provincial government responsibilities, and there was little cooperation or coordination between the two levels of government," he said.
A certain percentage of Canadians have always been xenophobic, but much less so than in some other countries, Wiseman said.
“Many Canadians have turned against the recent growing immigrant and temporary worker/student influx because of the growing housing, health, education, and other welfare challenges. Ottawa has read the polls and is responding accordingly," he said.
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Karnataka Governor gives assent to legislation against ‘honour killing’ in inter-caste marriages
Bengaluru: The government has brought into force the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of honour and tradition (Eva Nammava Eva Nammava) Act, 2026, intended to restrict ‘honour killings’ in inter-caste marriages.
According to The Indian Express, the legislation received assent from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on April 9 and was officially notified in the state gazette on April 10. The law had been passed unanimously by the state legislature last month.
The Bill was proposed by the Congress government in the wake of caste-linked ‘honour killings’ in the state, including the December 21, 2025, murder near Hubli of a 20-year-old Lingayat woman by her father for marrying a man from another caste.
The phrase ‘Eva Nammava Eva Nammava’ in the title is in reference to the message of universal humanity that the Lingayat saint Basavanna espoused. Basavanna, who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system, an amalgamation of all castes, used the words meaning ‘he is a part of me’ to say all people are one.
Under the new law, crimes committed in the name of ‘honour’, including murder, assault, threats, and social boycott, are specifically addressed with stringent punishments. ‘Honour killing’ offences carry a minimum imprisonment of five years, while serious assaults attract at least three years in jail.
The new law defines the social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages, refusal to provide services, refusal to provide work, refusal to conduct business, denial of loans and admissions to schools, and makes it punishable.
In the case of ‘honour killings’ per se, the new law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years, and in the case of assaults, a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.
The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, which means police can carry out arrests without court permissions after taking up a case.
The legislation follows several reported inter-caste relationship-related killings in Karnataka in 2025, including cases in Raichur and another involving 18-year-old Kavita.
The law to protect the freedom of choice in marriages is among several social bills that the Congress government has brought out in line with its policies for the backward and downtrodden communities in the state.
