Authors:

• Marshia Akbar, Director of the BMO Newcomer Workforce Integration Lab and Research Lead on Labour Migration at the CERC Migration and Integration Program at TMU, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Anna Triandafyllidou, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, Toronto Metropolitan University

Recent immigration reforms in Canada have cut international student and temporary resident numbers, restricted work permits for them and their spouses and aim to reduce permanent resident admissions by 21 per cent in 2025, with further cuts ahead.

Such changes are aimed to avoid competition with local unemployed Canadians at a time of rising unemployment. However, these changes may eventually intensify dysfunctions in the Canadian labour market.

With an overall unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent and a youth unemployment rate of 13.6 per cent alongside a worsening housing crisis, these policies reflect growing pressures.

However, blaming newcomers — particularly international students and their spouses — for job shortages overlooks deeper structural issues in the labour market. Canada’s labour market struggles are not caused by the number of newcomers, but by systemic issues such as underemployment and skills-job mismatches.

A chart:

While rising unemployment is affecting everyone, newcomers have been hit especially hard. In 2024, the unemployment rate for immigrants hit 11 per cent — more than double the 5.6 per cent rate for Canadian-born workers.