Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued a slickly-produced election-style explanation for the federal government’s about-face on immigration policy.

Quoting a variety of pandemic-era news reports indicating that immigration was necessary to fill job vacancies, Trudeau says “bad actors” took advantage of a more open immigration policy to exploit people.

“Who target vulnerable immigrants with promises of jobs, diplomas and easy pathways to citizenship, promises that would never come true.”

Trudeau also pointed to big corporations that chose to hire temporary foreign workers instead of Canadians and universities that profited by turning to foreign students who pay higher tuition rates.

He says slowing immigration flows will allow the housing sector to catch up to demand.

“We’ll see more corporations investing in Canadian workers and youth instead of relying on cheap foreign labour,” says Trudeau. In addition, the PM says the “cap on international students is already rental prices down in big cities and as we keep that cap in place, rents will keep coming down.”