New Department of Immigration research indicates record immigration accounts for 11-21% of housing price inflation, contradicting claims of racism by legislators who dismissed any connection between rising shelter costs and immigration levels.

A report titled Immigration And Housing Prices Across Municipalities In Canada highlights the significant impact of immigration on housing prices, especially in Canada. The study is the first of its kind by the immigration department.

Data from 15 years in municipalities nationwide shows a correlation between larger increases in house values and rapid growth in new immigrant populations, according to Blacklock’s.

The report found new immigrants landing in Canada within five years accounted for 11% of the rise in median house values and rental rates in municipalities over 1,000 people.

“This association tended to be more pronounced in larger municipalities,” wrote researchers.

“In 53 municipalities with a population exceeding 100,000 which together attracted over 80 percent of new immigrants, the rise in new immigrants accounted for 21 percent of the overall increase in median house values and 13 percent of the increase in median rents.”

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The Bank of Canada's Monetary Policy Report from July 2024 noted immigration added “inflationary pressures,” typically driving up rents as most newcomers initially rent.

Population growth fuels housing demand, according to Canada’s central bank, intensifying pressure on prices and rents. Newcomers impact all housing types, but primarily rentals, it said.

New data disproved claims of racism by legislators who dismissed a link between immigration and housing costs. New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan stated June 5 that the government found it convenient to blame newcomers for the housing crisis.

“We’re playing into that kind of narrative, that kind of approach and that kind of racist attitude toward migrants, international students, immigrants, refugees and others,” MP Kwan previously told the Commons last December 5. “To me it’s wrong.”

Liberal Senator Amina Gerba, also on June 5, stated that critics blaming immigrants for complex social situations are wrong, claiming “hard liners who embrace that rhetoric insinuate that immigrants are largely responsible for our country’s economic and social problems.”

November 2024 data show 54% of Canadians believe immigrant numbers are too high; 34% find them acceptable.

Post-pandemic, the Liberal government drastically raised immigration and temporary foreign worker levels from 2022. Statistics Canada cautioned that the sharp increase could “represent additional challenges for some regions of the country related to housing,” CBC reported.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre suggested Canada needs “very hard caps on immigration levels” as he called for more departures than new arrivals over the short term. Liberals plan to cut permanent residents to 365,000, and temporary residents to 5% of the population by 2027 (down from 7.1%).

That builds on a prior ask to revert to the immigration levels observed under former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, which admitted between 200,000 and 250,000 newcomers annually.

Poilievre stated Canada's immigration system should prioritize Canadian interests by inviting suitable individuals in appropriate numbers.

“We've had population growth of roughly a million a year under the Liberals, while we barely built 200,000 homes,” he told reporters Monday. Only 227,697 homes were built last year.