Provincial minister responsible for immigration, Sarah Stoodley says the province cannot afford to cut its more than 3,000 economic immigration spaces.

Stoodley was responding to Ottawa’s decision to cut immigration numbers somewhat over the next three years citing abuse by employers and post-secondary institutions, in addition to the strain aggressive immigration targets have had on housing and health care.

Ottawa yesterday announced that the number of permanent residents are being reduced from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025, and from 500,000 to 380,000 in 2026.

Minister @MarcMillerVM we see the speculation. NL cannot afford cuts to our 3,050 economic immigration spaces. We need healthcare workers for our health transformation, construction workers to build our houses & schools, and Early Childhood Educators to teach our children. We are…

— Sarah Stoodley (@SarahlStoodley) October 23, 2024

The immigration target for 2027 is set at 365,000. Temporary resident volumes will also be reduced to 5 per cent of Canada’s population by the end of 2026—dropping by 445,901 in 2025 and 445,662 in 2026.

Minister Stoodley says Newfoundland and Labrador needs health care workers for health transformation, while construction workers are needed to help build houses and schools.

Federal Minister Marc Miller says it’s now up to the provinces to prove their needs.

“Adjustments will be made to our economic immigration streams to prioritize that transition of workers already here, and focus on, be responsive to the labour market needs. For that, we need provinces to move forward, and come forward, with their data and tell us their needs. The federal government has an understanding of what those needs are, it is a sophisticated one, but it isn’t the only voice in this and province’s have the responsibility to come to us and tell us what those needs are.”