Canada on Wednesday closed the door on a promised major regularization of undocumented migrants, dampening residency hopes for thousands of people following a period of policy uncertainty.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had pledged an ambitious program aimed at regularization.
But polls have shown a discernible shift in public opinion after years of broad support for Canada’s open immigration policies.
“A large scale regularization plan is off the table (at least) until the next election,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters after meeting with business leaders in Vancouver.
But, he added, “that doesn’t mean that in areas where we need key employees that there isn’t the possibility of a sort of small scale regularization.”
There are between 100,000 and one million undocumented migrants in Canada, according to different estimates.
Trudeau’s minority liberal government faces an emboldened conservative opposition 20 points ahead in polls and seeking to force snap elections.
Canada has been tightening rules and targets to bring down the number of immigrants including asylum seekers, as well as foreign students and temporary foreign workers.
As Ottawa moves on these reforms, Miller commented: “It’s clear that the age of unlimited supply of cheap foreign labor is over.”
Asked about how Canada might be impacted by US President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated focus on border security and immigration, Miller said he expects cooperation with Washington to continue.
“I think when it comes to our southern border and the US northern border, you see there an alignment of interests and making sure that it is safe, that it is secure,” he said.
A surge of 19,000 individuals were reportedly apprehended over the past year trying to slip into the United States from Canada. Miller said Canada has faced “equal challenges with respect to the flow coming from the US into Canada.”
He noted measures taken to curb ill-fated asylum claims and close irregular border crossings such as Roxham Road, south of Montreal, where 40,000 migrants arrived from the United States in 2022.