Justin Trudeau announced a reduction in immigration into Canada, not a freeze

Context

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not announce a three-year freeze on accepting immigrants into the country, despite claims shared online that misinterpret a recently unveiled plan to reduce immigration.

The claim (archived here) surfaced on X, with one post reaching 2.1 million views (archived here) that reads, "BREAKING: Justin Trudeau just announced a 3-year freeze on accepting immigrants into Canada. 'We made some mistakes.' Reality is kicking in." The claim also appeared on Facebook (example archived here) and Bluesky (example archived here). 

We also found an iteration of the claim (archived here) on TikTok using Logically Accelerate, a product that enables the discovery of fact-check-worthy content on social media.

The posts misinterpret the plan announced in late October to reduce immigration for permanent and temporary residents over the next three years, not freeze it, starting in 2025. 

In fact

The plan was first presented during a press conference on October 24, 2024, which the Canadian non-profit TV service Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) live-streamed. 

The plan is also detailed on the Canadian government's official website, titled "2025 to 2027 Immigration Levels Plan."

According to the government website, the 2024 allocation of new permanent residents will drop from 485,000 to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027. 

The plan also includes reducing the number of temporary workers from 367,750 in 2025 to 237,700 in 2027 and a lowered cap on international students. 

This comes after the government announced that the cap for international students would be 360,000 permits in 2024, down 35 percent from 2023. From 2025, the cap will be 305,900 permits. 

Nowhere in the 2025 to 2027 plan on the government website or in the October 24 press conference was there any reference to a freeze or halt on immigration. 

Trudeau later posted a video on the move via his X account on November 17, and a longer, nearly seven-minute video was uploaded to his YouTube account the same day. 

At 00:16 in the YouTube video, Trudeau says, "We're reducing the number of immigrants that will come to Canada for the next three years."

Trudeau said that in the past, temporary workers and international students were not included in government immigration targets. 

He said an increase in temporary workers was needed after the pandemic to stifle a labor shortage. At 03:32, he said, "Some saw that as an opportunity to profit, to game the system. We've seen way too many large corporations do this."

At 04:11, he said, "Looking back, when the post-pandemic boom cooled, and businesses no longer needed the additional labor help, as a federal team, we could have acted quicker and turned off the taps faster."

Trudeau added, "Far too many colleges and universities used international students to raise their bottom line."

In the video, he also said there are "bad actors" who exploit "vulnerable immigrants" with promises of pathways to citizenship that do not come to fruition. 

At 05:36, Trudeau said that between people coming into Canada and leaving, the country will see a pause in population growth over the next two years before increasing at a "sustainable pace" from 2027, with a return to pre-pandemic growth after that.

Logically Facts contacted the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, but they have not immediately responded to requests for comment. 

The verdict

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not announce a freeze on immigration in late October, but a reduction in permanent and temporary residents as part of a 2025 to 2027 immigration plan. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.