From Punjab, the latest population data from Statistics Canada is particularly noteworthy and worth discussing as Punjab contributes maximum immigrants to Canada.As of October 1, 2025, Canada’s population stood at an estimated 41,575,585—down 76,068 people (0.2%) from July 1, marking the first quarterly decline since the pandemic-era restrictions of 2020 and the largest such drop on record.
This isn’t just a statistic; it’s a symptom of deeper issues, including erratic immigration policies that have ripple effects far beyond Canada’s borders. While some in Canada celebrate this as a breather for housing pressures, it underscores a critical truth: Canada desperately needs a young, vibrant workforce to sustain its economy, but not at the cost of unchecked chaos. Here in Punjab, a region that sends a large number of young people to Canada in pursuit of better opportunities, this sudden policy shift has bred significant frustration among the youth.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room Canada’s aging population. The workforce is graying at an alarming rate, with projections indicating that by 2035, seniors (aged 65+) will make up around 23-25% of the population, the working-age share will drop to about 60%, and the old-age dependency ratio could approach 40-45 seniors per 100 working-age individuals. Critical sectors like healthcare, skilled trades, logistics, and infrastructure are screaming for young talent, with provinces like Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia facing the most acute shortages. An aging demographic only amplifies this, as it boosts demand for services while reducing the labor pool available to provide them. Without a steady influx of young immigrants, Canada will face crippling labor gaps that no amount of domestic training can fill overnight. Immigration isn’t optional for Canada; it’s essential to counter low fertility rates and keep the engines of growth humming.
Yet, this need has been weaponized by poor policy, exacerbating other crises like housing. For years, the Canadian housing market has operated like an oligopoly, with a handful of big players dominating supply and driving up prices through cartelization and limited competition. Institutional investors have consolidated ownership, turning rentals into profit machines while stifling new development.
The rapid population surge from 2020 to 2024, fueled by immigration, poured fuel on this fire: a 1% increase in immigration correlated with roughly a 1% rise in housing prices, contributing to about 21% of price growth in major municipalities. Affordability plummeted, with house prices outpacing wage growth for decades, creating a crisis that hit young families and newcomers hardest. Now, with the population dip in Q3 2025, we’re seeing early signs of softening: home prices plunged 6.3% in Ottawa and 5.2% in Greater Vancouver, and overall market activity has stalled as demand eases. This temporary relief is welcome, but it highlights how artificially inflated growth masked underlying cartel-like behaviors in the sector, where monopolistic practices have long kept supply low and profits high.
The blame for this mess lands squarely at the feet of Justin Trudeau’s government and its flip-flopping immigration policies. What started as a post-pandemic push for recovery ballooned into unchecked expansion: permanent resident targets climbed from 341,000 in 2019 to a planned 500,000 by 2025, with temporary residents exploding alongside. Measures like open work permits in 2020 and relaxed rules invited a flood, but without infrastructure to support it. Then, amid public backlash over housing and services, came the sudden squeeze: permanent admissions slashed to 395,000 for 2025, down to 365,000 by 2027—a 21% cut—and temporary residents targeted for a 45% drop by 2027, alongside sharp reductions in study permits (capped at 437,000 for 2025, with approval rates for Indian applicants plummeting). This erratic behavior—ramping up without checks, then slamming on the brakes—has broken public trust and the longstanding immigration consensus. Critics, including business groups and premiers, decry the constant tweaks as destabilizing, reigniting debates over economic principles and leaving provinces scrambling. It’s a policy disaster that prioritized volume over integration, turning a strength into a liability.
This abrupt choking of pathways, especially study visas and temporary permits, has hit Punjab hard. For years, thousands of our bright, ambitious young people have seen Canada as a gateway to a brighter future—pursuing education, gaining work experience, and building lives abroad. But with study permit approvals for Indians dropping sharply (over 30% in early 2025, rejection rates soaring to 74% in some months), many dreams have been dashed. Families here have invested heavily—selling land, taking loans—for what now feels like a closed door. The result? Growing frustration and uncertainty among Punjab’s youth, who feel trapped between limited local opportunities and a suddenly unwelcoming Canada.
Worse still, the earlier rampant, unchecked migration opened the door to serious security concerns, allowing criminals to infiltrate the system and erode law and order. While studies show mixed impacts—some even suggesting recent immigrants reduce certain property crimes—the public perception is clear: over a third of Canadians (36%) believe immigration increases crime levels, and a sizeable minority links it to higher risks.
Asylum claims have surged in recent years, with backlogs ballooning to nearly 295,000 cases as of August 2025—up dramatically from 23,000 in 2022—enabling exploitation like extortion rings and organized crime networks slipping through porous borders. Lawyers coaching asylum seekers, particularly young Indian students, tell them to raise anti-India or Khalistani slogans and flags, click photos to build their cases. The anti-India ranting dictated by these lawyers slowly becomes the norm in the minds of young, impressionable newcomers, fostering division and radicalization. Cases of foreign nationals facing charges yet claiming refugee status to halt deportations highlight a broken system where crime doesn’t always lead to swift removal. Transnational gangs, mainly from Punjab—such as the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate, now designated a terrorist entity by Canada in September 2025—and smuggling operations have thrived amid the chaos, with experts warning that lax screening has strained enforcement resources. This isn’t about scapegoating immigrants—many contribute immensely—but about acknowledging that poor oversight has imported problems we can’t afford.
Can Canada afford to shut its immigration doors for long? Definitely no, given the demographic challenges and labor needs discussed above.
However, Canada needs to adopt a logical, rational, pragmatic, and consistent immigration policy. It cannot survive without immigration. Suggest sanity.