Where do the parties stand on immigration? This consultant says recent caps left thousands 'stranded'

While immigration might not be the most pressing issue for some voters ahead of this year's federal election, a Hamilton immigration consultant says whichever party forms government will need to address recent immigration caps. 

"I would like to ask them how they intend to handle all of the students and workers that came to Canada in the last two to three years, even four years, who were promised a pathway to permanent residency at the end of their study term or their working term," Charlene DaSilva told CBC Hamilton.

DaSilva said people have been left "stranded" after the federal government made sweeping changes to Canada's immigration system in recent months.

As part of a new immigration plan, Ottawa cut the projected number of new permanent residents to 395,000 this year, an 18.5 per cent reduction from 2024. The target will drop further to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027, as the federal government aims for a 0.2 per cent population decline over the next two years. 

The federal government made these sweeping changes to Canada's immigration system as the country's population continues to grow, reaching more than 41.5 million in October. Immigration has been a major factor in this growth, as concerns rise over the increasing need for services like housing and health care.

• Read all of CBC Hamilton's coverage of the federal election here.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the government expects the changes to "yield approximately 300,000 fewer study permits" over the next three years.

'People came to Canada with pure intentions'

Meanwhile, last September the Liberal government announced it would slash the number of international student permits it issues by another 10 per cent. The government says the new target for 2025 and 2026 will be 437,000 permits. In 2024, the target was 485,000 permits.

According to DaSilva, "those people came to Canada with pure intentions," but "thousands" of them have now been left without a clear path to become permanent residents. 

"They have worked hard, they have studied hard, and now to put them in a position of nothing basically and having to go back to their countries and start again, I think is a very unfair thing to do, so I'm hoping that the government will implement some sort of policies to help those individuals and make sure there are no disturbances," Da Silva said.

"How [do] they intend to handle those people who have now been left stranded or finding themselves in a position where they cannot meet the new requirements to get permanent residency?

"I would like to know how they plan on handling those particular applicants and whether or not they're going to introduce some temporary policies to accommodate some of them."

DaSilva's consultancy office provides support — including a free consultation — to people considering immigrating to Canada, visiting, working, or studying in Canada, including refugees. Additionally, they also assist clients with renewals, extensions, replacement of immigration documents, appeals and hearings.

'Stricter guidelines, stricter requirements'

DaSilva said everyone in the immigration consulting business has been affected by the changes made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

"If your business relies upon assisting those types of applications — temporary residents — Immigration Canada has now reduced the amount of temporary resident types of applications that they are accepting," she said. 

"As it pertains to the study permits and work permits, they've made stricter guidelines, stricter requirements for any applicant intending to study in Canada or work in Canada."

DaSilva said the changes have "definitely reduced the amount of clients that have made inquiries to our office about those particular pathways. It has forced us to look at the future of immigration in the next year and with the new government that could possibly be coming in, or the new prime minister.

"It has definitely reduced the amount of intakes that we have had and we have shifted our focus [from] study permit inquiries and work permit inquiries to those that are already inside Canada that have a status that are possibly getting close to expiration and how we can possibly help those people either extend, maintain or change their status to that of a permanent resident," she added.

CBC News has reached out to the leading political parties to ask about their plans to address immigration levels. Both the Liberal Party and the Green Party promised to provide comments but did not do so by publication deadline. The Conservatives did not respond to CBC's request.

NDP will fight for students, immigrant workers

Anne McGarth, a spokesperson for the NDP, says international students and migrant workers were promised a pathway to permanent residency, and the Liberal government has broken that promise, leaving thousands in limbo. 

"The NDP will fight to ensure that people who've come here, contributed, and built their lives in Canada are treated fairly and given a clear, achievable path to stay," McGarth wrote in an emailed statement to CBC Hamilton.

Here's what the other parties are saying about immigration:

Conservatives: Those who want to come to Canada deserve a plan that is clear, efficient, and compassionate. But the Liberals' record when it comes to immigration is one of failure, mismanagement, and backlogs that last for years. It is unacceptable that lives and careers have been put on hold and families have been kept apart for years because of Trudeau's broken immigration system. Conservatives believe in a well-functioning immigration system that promotes family reunification and allows new immigrants to achieve their dreams.

Greens: The party has made the following promises in their newly released platform:

• Provide annual funding to reduce processing times for permanent residency applications and expand pathways for essential workers.

• Create a new employer-driven immigration program to transition foreign workers in essential sectors to permanent residency.

• Introduce income-based exemptions for permanent residency and citizenship application fees.

• Create a limited pathway to permanent residency for international students entering occupations experiencing critical labour shortages — such as doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and other essential health care roles — where qualified Canadians are not available to fill the need. 

• Commit to a principled, case-by-case process for regularizing the status of undocumented residents — one that upholds Canada's humanitarian values and recognizes their contributions to our communities and economy. 

• Reduce PR application fees and financial requirements for international students, eliminating excessive financial burdens.

Liberals: According to the Liberal Party's platform, a Mark Carney-led government will:

• Return immigration to sustainable levels by capping the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than five per cent of Canada's population by the end of 2027, from a past high of 7.3 per cent, to ease the strain on housing, public infrastructure, and social services.

• Stabilize permanent resident admissions to at less than one per cent of Canada's population annually beyond 2027 with a focus on attracting top global talent that will drive economic growth and prosperity. Our immigration plan will also allow for the reunification of families, while maintaining Canada's global leadership in prioritizing the world's most vulnerable, including human rights defenders and refugees.

• Work toward a fairer and faster process and enhance service delivery for applicants by leveraging digital service tools to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs to ensure that Canada's immigration system is more reliable for families, businesses, and applicants.