Recent updates to Canada’s immigration strategy aren’t stopping all new arrivals, as social media posts claim. These policies reduce the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country each year without imposing drastic measures. break.

“Just on arrival: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a 3-year freeze on the acceptance of immigrants to Canada,” says an job in a screenshot shared on November 27, 2024 on Facebook.

Other articles on Facebook, InstagramAnd X repeat the same statement. A TikTok video with over 400,000 views, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issues a statement while one user claims the announcement means there will be a “temporary pause” on immigration.

Screenshot of an X post taken on December 4, 2024

Canadian audience opinion has offbeat in recent years, with critics saying population growth has strained resources such as food and accommodation.

In response to changes in economic conditions, Trudeau’s Liberal government announcement new immigration rules and caps October 24 — but they don’t stop new arrivals.

“There is no freeze on immigration to Canada,” said Isabelle Dubois, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in a December 4 email.

She said Canada was changing its Immigration Levels Plan (archive here) reducing its permanent resident targets from 500,000 accepted applicants planned for 2025 and 2026 to 395,000 and 380,000, respectively. In 2027, the country plans to welcome 365,000 permanent residents.

Canada also declared in September that it reduce the number of permits for international students and temporary foreigners workers.

Trudeau explained the changes in a video common November 17 on her social channels (archive here, hereAnd here).

“We made mistakes,” he says in the clip, a sound bite cited in the misleading social media posts.

The Prime Minister went on to say that Canada accepted large numbers of immigrants. to address labor shortages after the pandemic, but that the government is reducing the number of new arrivals to allow the country’s economy to catch up with its growing population.

Read more AFP reports on disinformation in Canada here.