Ottawa may 'rein in' temporary resident numbers as housing concerns intensify, minister says

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he'll be scrutinizing the number of international students and other non-permanent residents coming into Canada, as political tension builds around the interplay between housing affordability and immigration.

In an interview airing Sunday on, Miller said the relationship between housing and immigration is complex, and it was discussed around the cabinet table when it came to setting targets for the number of people coming in to Canada.

«Housing has and continues to be a concern, acutely so now in a post-COVID scenario, with the increase in interest rates, with supply challenges, but also just affordability challenges,» Miller told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

«It isn't immigrants that raised interest rates, but volume is volume and it's something that we need to look at.»

Canada is facing major challenges around housing affordability. The Conservative opposition has sought to place the blame on the Liberal government by linking government deficits with rising interest rates.

«My common-sense plan is to cut waste and cap spending to balance the budget so we have more affordable interest rates,» Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during an event in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Friday.

«And secondly, to tie the number of dollars cities get for infrastructure to the number of homes they allow to be built.»

Polls suggest a shift in Canadians' thinking on immigration in relation to housing, with a strong majority saying that greater numbers of people coming together are exacerbating the housing affordability crisis and increasing strain on the health-care system.

The Liberal government has responded with a series of measures designed to increase housing affordability —