Poilievre accuses government of cooking books on immigration

Posted November 6, 2026 12:35 pm.

Last Updated November 6, 2026 1:25 pm.

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the government is hiding the facts on the number of newcomers it’s bringing to Canada, despite the focus in the new immigration levels plan on people who are already here.

Poilievre told a news conference in Brampton, Ont., today the current government is blowing past the Trudeau government’s immigration numbers with plans to grant permanent residency to 200,000 temporary residents this year, in addition to the broad target of 380,000 permanent residents.

The one-year program will select, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, 100,000 people here on work visas who already have applied for permanent residency.

The other 100,000 applicants will be chosen from humanitarian permanent residency streams and government officials say this is meant to clear applications from about 50,000 former Hong Kong residents and Ukrainians who are already in Canada.

The government says the broad pool of 380,000 permanent residents will be chosen mostly from people already in Canada on work and study visas, with some successful applicants coming from outside the country.

Poilievre also says the Temporary Foreign Worker Program should not be open to communities with unemployment rates higher than 5.5 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press

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