Conservative MP calls for major cuts to immigration levels

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner has criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney’s suggestion that Canada could increase immigration levels, saying the Conservative Party will oppose any such move and push for significant reductions.

In a statement released on October 1, Rempel Garner said immigration levels should be set much lower in the upcoming immigration levels report. She argued that the current pace of immigration is putting pressure on housing, health care and employment.

Rempel Garner also criticized the federal government’s handling of asylum claims and the removal of non-citizens who no longer have legal status in Canada. She questioned whether the government could accurately track the number of non-citizens in the country.

She blamed Liberal immigration policies for contributing to youth unemployment, longer health-care waitlists, pressure on social assistance and education systems, and rising rents.

According to Rempel Garner, the federal government issued 112,000 new temporary foreign worker permits and 174,000 foreign student work permits between January and July 2026.

She called on the government to substantially reduce immigration, remove non-citizens without legal status, address abuse of the asylum system and reverse policies she described as promoting mass immigration.