‘We depend on immigrants’: Calgary business concerned over feds plan to cut immigration
Posted Oct 24, 2024 5:58 pm.
Last Updated Oct 24, 2024 6:54 pm.
Some Calgary business owners say they are worried after the federal government announced major cuts to its immigration targets.
In an announcement on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government did not get the immigration balance right following the COVID-19 pandemic and says they now plan to bring in 20 per cent fewer permanent residents next year.
It’s a move that has Calgary business owners like Yadi Lupa feeling concerned.
“Certain companies like mine, we depend on immigrants, so we’ll see how it goes but it’s a concern for sure,” says Lupa, who runs Cleaning Girl Trustworthy Services.
Lupa immigrated to Calgary from Mexico City in 2008. She says the new immigration targets will make it more difficult for her and other companies to find workers.
“This city keeps growing,” she says. “As we expand, we need different kinds of layers in the work force. Not all of them can be sitting behind a desk.”
For nearly 40 years, The Immigrant Education Society (TIES) in Calgary has been helping newcomers learn English and build employment skills. But the organization believes the government’s decision to cut down could end up having a negative impact on immigrants who already live here.
“If any funding gets cut, then we’re going to be really concerned,” says TIES president and CEO Sally Zhao. “How can we accommodate the current clients, not to mention the waiting list.”
TIES currently has over 2,000 people on its waiting list.
The federal government had targeted bringing in 500,000 new permanent residents in both 2025 and 2026. Trudeau now says next year’s target will be 395,000, which will continue to fall to 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027.
The Alberta government says the cuts don’t go far enough and will not solve the country’s housing crisis, hospital capacity issues and rising food costs.
The province is calling on the federal government to cut the total number of newcomers to Canada to “well under 500,000 annually until further notice.”
