Trump says Canada is 'destroying itself' with immigration. Ministers say that's bogus
U.S. President Donald Trump again set his sights on Canada on Wednesday, this time focusing on immigration policies. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press)Social SharingU.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Canadian immigration policies on Wednesday, saying the country is "destroying itself" by allowing "millions" of people into the country without proper security checks — comments federal ministers say are ill-informed and grossly inaccurate.
In a social media post, Trump claimed that Canada is letting too many people in and those who are coming are "essentially unchecked and unvetted" and that's "causing problems that will soon be too big to handle."
All prospective residents go through a multi-step screening process jointly led by Canada's border, security and intelligence agencies. The number of recent arrivals is far fewer than the "millions" the president cited.
"It is a Liberal takeover that will end very badly," Trump said in his latest broadside against Canada.
After a post-COVID surge in new arrivals, the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney has slammed the brakes on immigration, curtailing the number of temporary residents, particularly students. That followed the Trudeau government lowering its immigration targets in the fall of 2024.
According to federal figures compiled by the parliamentary budget officer, the number of permanent residents admitted last year returned to pre-pandemic levels with about 328,000 new additions.
The number of temporary residents has plummeted from a peak of 789,000 newcomers in 2023 to a net loss of 382,000 last year.
Statistics Canada data released on Wednesday shows that population growth is at a decades-low level with a year-over-year increase of 189,425 people. That is the lowest annual population growth since 1944-45, the agency said.
That 0.5 per cent annual growth rate is roughly the same level reported in the U.S. under Trump's leadership, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
"Let's put some facts on the table," Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York when asked about Trump's comments.
"Canada has had a revised immigration policy since 2024 and we are certainly ensuring our immigration levels, including temporary foreign workers, are reduced in order to stabilize the supports that are available to all Canadians," Anand said.
She said Canada has deliberately curtailed immigration and restored some "stability" to the system to make more homes and health-care services available to the people who are already here.
Rather than something that is "destroying" Canada, Anand said overall immigration has "led to increased Canadian prosperity, especially from an economic standpoint," but the government recognizes that past immigration levels were too high.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who was immigration minister during a period of particularly high migration during and after the pandemic, said Trump's claim that people are coming in unvetted is bogus.
"Obviously that's not an accurate depiction of Canada's immigration system," Fraser said. "We scan for security purposes every application for a person seeking to come into this country."
Still, some advocates in this country have said the government needs to scrutinize incoming foreign students more closely. Some alleged Bishnoi gang members have entered Canada on student permits.
Since the Canada-U.S. trade talks collapsed and Trump imposed another round of tariffs that are deeply unpopular stateside, the president has been seized with Canada and its leadership.
On Monday, Trump claimed the U.S. would buy potash from Belarus over Canada, even though the Russian-aligned dictator who runs that country says it has none to sell the Americans. Trump later walked back those comments.
Last week, as Carney signalled he wanted Canada to draw closer to the European Union through an "alliance for the future," Trump dismissed that proposed alignment as "laughable."
And he said Canada has been a "terrible trade partner," even though it was his administration that launched a trade war designed to destroy key sectors of the Canadian economy and seems uninterested in the North American trade deal he negotiated in his first term.
J.P. Tasker is a journalist in CBC's parliamentary bureau who reports for digital, radio and television. He is also a regular panellist on CBC News Network's Power & Politics. He covers the Conservative Party, Canada-U.S. relations, the Crown in Canada, health policy and the Senate. You can send story ideas and tips to J.P. at jp.tasker@cbc.ca
