CIMM – Housing Shortages – December 05, 2023

Key Messages

• Canada is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis, which requires collaboration among all levels of government.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) continues to work with federal partners, like Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), to develop a whole-of-government approach to immigration levels planning, with a particular focus on Canada’s infrastructure and housing capacity.
• 42,495 persons (consisting of 41,975 principal applicants, who were selected as tradespeople, and 520 spouses and dependents) were admitted for the period of 2016 to September 2023 for a range of trades occupations, through both federal and provincial/territorial economic programs. This includes 20,180 persons admitted under the Express Entry Program within Category 7 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC 2011) (Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations).
  • Through Category-Based Selection in Express Entry, a trades category round of 1,500 invitations was completed on August 3, 2023. The top three NOC codes invited were welders and related machine operators; carpenters; and contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers.
• In addition, in 2022, IRCC issued 25,000 work permits to foreign workers destined to work in construction sector occupations, with the majority coming under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
• Housing is a basic need for all. For newcomers, access to housing is critical to support successful settlement and integration. For international students, it is a key part of the supports they need to succeed in their studies.

Supplementary Information

• As part of the Strategic Immigration Review, a dedicated discussion on housing was convened to discuss concrete solutions. Stakeholders agreed that a whole-of-society approach is needed to begin addressing housing accessibility and affordability challenges.
• [Redacted]
• The Federal Economic Statement commits to addressing construction sector labour shortages through immigration [Redacted] immigration levels planning [Redacted] and enhancing protections for international students, including through the development of a Recognized Institutions Framework that rewards institutions with high standards around selecting, supporting and retaining international students, including by providing access to housing (announced October 26, 2023).
• The Prime Minister also released a statement on National Housing Day, November 22, which referenced the Interim Housing Assistance Program [Redacted] The Program provides funding to provincial and municipal governments, on a cost-sharing basis, to address extraordinary interim housing pressures resulting from increased volumes of asylum claimants since 2017. Due to continued increases in asylum volumes, the program has been extended to March 2024.
• Immigration can also be part of the solution by bringing in skilled trades workers to build homes and help grow the economy in general.
• Immigration is not the cause of Canada’s housing and homelessness challenges. Infrastructure demand has outpaced investments for several decades. The housing crisis was not caused by immigration, though rapid population growth of the last few years is a contributor to the demand for housing. IRCC is moving forward with a new approach to Multi-Year Immigration Levels plan that better incorporates a whole of government and whole of society lens to immigration.