Pierre Poilievre has voiced major criticisms of the current government’s immigration policies, suggesting that he might table major reforms if he were to become the next prime minister of Canada.
With Justin Trudeau having announced his resignation on January 6, Poilievre is a top contender for Canada’s next prime minister after the 2025 election.
In this article, we’ll provide a breakdown of what Poilievre has said about immigration over the years, including on topics such as
- The role that economic immigrants play in providing workers to Canadian businesses;
- The ease of foreign-trained professionals becoming accredited to practice their professions in Canada;
- Alleged abuses of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) by employers;
- Tying immigration admissions targets to Canada’s housing supply;
- Increasing border security;
- Cracking down on alleged illegitimate asylum claims; and
- The cultural integration of newcomers into Canadian society.
Background
Poilievre was first elected to the House of Commons following the 2004 federal elections.
After holding different parliamentary secretary posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he served as the Minister for Democratic Reform (2013–2015) and was the Minister of Employment and Social Development in 2015.
As Minister of Employment and Social Development, Poilievre was largely aligned with his party’s centrist approach to immigration, emphasizing the need for immigrants to fill labour shortage and contribute to the Canadian economy.
On September 10, 2022, he was voted leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
On economic immigration
As Minister of Employment and Social Development, Poilievre has generally supported economic immigration to fill Canada’s labour shortages.
In 2015, for example, he announced the funding of projects that would see internationally trained doctors and engineers integrate more quickly in the Canadian job market.
Over the last few years, he has repeatedly talked about streamlining processes and licensing requirements, specifically for in-demand occupations, to help meet labour market needs.
In a press conference in August 2023, Poilievre stated he would focus on housing by speeding up entry for immigrants in the building trades.
He said that a Conservative government would shape its immigration policy around
- the demands of private-sector employers;
- the level of support planned by charities for refugees; and
- family reunification.
Most recently, after the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27 announcement in October 2024, Poilievre floated the idea of creating a national licensing standard for the healthcare sector.
“Provinces can voluntarily adopt a blue seal so immigrant doctors and nurses can take a test, get qualified and get to work, reducing wait times in hospitals,” he suggested.
On the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
While he has expressed support for economic immigration, Poilievre has called for reforms of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
In 2015, as Minister of Employment and Social Development, he announced new penalties for employers abusing the TFWP. At the same time, he made a statement about how Canadians deserved first preference when it comes to available jobs.
“The purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is exactly that – to be temporary. Canadians rightly expect to get first crack at available jobs,” a joint statement by Poilievre and Canada’s then Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, read.
In 2024, he doubled down on this message, saying he would curb the government’s TFWP as well as international student programs.
In a speech on August 29, 2024, he said that, if he were to become prime minister, he would find a way to ensure that the TFWP would be used “exclusively to fill jobs that Canadians cannot or do not fill, like in agricultural sectors, but never to replace Canadians or drive down wages.”
Note: A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) confirms the need for a foreign worker by showing that no Canadian or permanent resident is available to fill a position. Employers must obtain one before hiring a foreign national through the TFWP.
Poilievre’s comments suggest he believes that the LMIA system is not being used appropriately, and that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has been issuing positive LMIAs even when Canadian citizens and permanent residents are available to do the job.
Note: Over the course of 2024, the federal government announced several initiatives to scale back the TFWP. These include
- The suspension of processing of LMIAs for the low-wage stream of the TFWP in CMAs with unemployment rates of 6% or higher (implemented September 26, 2024); and
- An increase in wage requirements for the high-wage stream of the TFWP (November 8, 2024).
Note: The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) allows Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals to fill labour shortages in
On immigration targets
In an August 2023 press conference, Poilievre stated that Canada’s immigration system was broken.
He announced that a Conservative government would base its immigration policy on factors such as the needs of employers. At the time, he side-stepped questions about cutting immigration targets.
In 2024, Poilievre began floating the idea of tying immigration levels to homebuilding.
“We need to make a link between the number of homes built and the number of people we invite as new Canadians,” he said during a press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on January 12, 2024.
In the months that followed he also stated that the immigration numbers would be much lower if he were to become prime minister.
In August 2024, he said he would cut population growth as prime minister.
He reiterated that a future Conservative government would look at tying the country’s population growth rate to a level that’s below the number of new homes being built. He also said they would consider factors such as access to healthcare and jobs when considering immigration targets.
“If you want an idea of how I would run the immigration system overall, it’s the way it was run for 30 years prior to Trudeau being Prime Minister,” he said.
On October 24, the federal government released the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27, cutting immigration targets. The government said they intend these cuts to immigration levels to result in a negative population growth of 0.2 in both 2025 and 2026, before returning to a population growth of 0.8 in 2027.
Poilievre called this policy change a “massive admission of failure” by Trudeau and questioned whether the current government, if re-elected, would be able to cut the numbers as per the plan.
Despite the fact that targets have already been slashed, Poilievre reiterated his opinion that Canada has to “slow down the numbers” in a long form interview with Jordan Peterson, recorded in December 2024, alluding to more cuts.
“There’s no doubt about it. We have to end the fraud of the international student and the Temporary Foreign Worker programs,” said Poilievre. “We have to get back to the best system in the world, which we had for 150 years,” he said, without elaborating on any numbers.
On border security
Poilievre has often been vocal about illegal border crossings.
For example, in 2023, he advocated for the closing of Roxham Road to discourage irregular crossings.
Irregular crossing is an issue he has been increasingly vocal about after Trump won the US election.
On November 28, 2024, he questioned Marc Miller on what would happen if the people in Canada illegally decided to immigrate south of the border, thus “provoking a massive retaliatory response” from the US.
He has also called for increased security measures such as patrols and technology to cut down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as the tightening of visa rules, in a press conference in December.
Note: Since his comment, Canada has banned flagpoling, and announced further measures to tighten border security.
Poilievre has also voiced some skepticism over refugee claims, and suggested a cap on the number of asylum seekers.
“I love real refugees,” Poilievre said. “Our country was built in large part by real refugees who were genuinely fleeing danger, like my wife. But I have no time for people who lie to come into our country, and that is the problem we have to cut off.”
Poilievre’s wife, Anaida Poilievre, came to Canada as a refugee from Venezuela.
On values and integration
After being voted Conservative party leader, Poilievre made outreach efforts to new Canadians and immigrants, by attending cultural events. He has also talked about how Conservative values aligned with immigrant values.
In the recent interview with Jordan Peterson, he suggested newcomers should “leave their problems at the door” when immigrating, hinting at more cultural integration being required.
“We’re not interested in the world’s ethno-cultural conflicts. We welcome the people who come from places that have been afflicted by war, as long as they leave the war behind,” he said.