The federal government is targeting the entry of 500,000 new arrivals on an annual basis by 2025
While the federal government’s expressed goal in its immigration targets is to supercharge Canada’s economy through a newcomer-boosted workforce, a majority of Canadians believe heightened immigration numbers will have a negative effect on housing affordability, a new survey has found.
As many as two out of three Canadians believe that the entry of 500,000 new arrivals on an annual basis by 2025 will lead to a surge in home purchase costs, according to polling by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News.
The study found that most Canadians view the government’s immigration plan as likely to have a negative (42%) or somewhat negative (26%) impact on home prices. Only one in five believe it will have a positive (8%) or somewhat positive impact (12%), while 7% believe that it will have no impact.
“Although Canadians traditionally support immigration, increasing the number of new Canadians while there is stress on the housing market has dampened enthusiasm,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research Group.
“The research puts a spotlight on the housing pain point and the collision of increasing the number of new Canadians when housing is seen as being increasingly unaffordable.”
The Canadian population clocked in at 39,566,248 on January 1 this year, with more than 1 million new arrivals registered over the course of 2022, according to Statistics Canada.https://t.co/XgbSgeR7Fd#mortgage #mortgagenews #housingmarket #immigration
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) March 23, 2023
Sean Fraser says ban on purchases by new immigrants is not the answer
Newly appointed housing and infrastructure minister Sean Fraser recently said that suggestions of a blanket ban on immigrant purchases of Canadian homes are a wrongheaded approach to addressing the housing crisis.
“I would urge caution to anyone who believes the answer to our housing challenges is to close the door on newcomers,” Fraser said.
“There are no simple solutions, but if we continue to advance measures that help build more stock, that help make sure it’s easier for people to get into the market and make sure we’re offering protections for low-income families, particularly in vulnerable renting situations, we’re going to be able to make a meaningful difference.”
