Maple News reports that Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, is calling on the federal government to urgently revamp its immigration strategy. His appeal comes in response to Ottawa’s decision to reduce permanent resident admissions from 395,000 in 2025 to 365,000 in 2027—a move he warns could shut out the professionals Canada needs most.
According to Bernhard, the country’s current approach is riddled with contradictions. While publicly expressing a desire to attract global talent, the government continues to cap immigration levels under the banner of sustainability. This mixed messaging, he argues, risks undermining one of Canada’s most powerful tools for addressing critical issues such as health care backlogs, housing shortages, infrastructure delays, and innovation gaps.
Bernhard sees initiatives like the Canada Discovery Visa—which proposes to welcome 1,000 top-tier scientists and engineers—as a step forward. However, he questions the narrow scope of such programs, advocating for a more expansive and inclusive approach that brings in skilled professionals across sectors and from countries beyond the United States.
He points to health care as a clear area where international expertise could help transform outcomes. Despite higher per capita spending, Canada lags behind countries like Japan, Israel, and Spain in health performance. Bernhard urges policymakers to welcome not only doctors and nurses but also foreign-trained administrators and policy experts. He also criticizes the systemic barriers keeping over 20,000 internationally educated nurses in Ontario from joining the workforce.
The housing crisis offers another stark example. With over 130,000 residential builders set to retire by 2033, Canada faces a shortage of 85,000 construction workers over the next decade. Yet, the country accepts 75% fewer tradespeople today than it did in the 1980s. Bernhard recommends drawing lessons from Sweden, where 90% of homes are factory-built. Rather than attracting foreign firms alone, he suggests recruiting the engineers and construction professionals behind those successful models.
Canada’s transportation woes also come under scrutiny. Infrastructure projects in Canada are among the slowest and most expensive globally. Research from the University of Toronto shows that nations like Italy, Turkey, and South Korea deliver transit systems at a fraction of Canada’s cost. Bernhard believes the solution lies in hiring the transit planners and civil servants with proven track records abroad.
At the heart of his message is a fundamental shift in how Canada should view immigration. Bernhard asserts that immigration should not be framed as charity but as a critical driver of national development. In his view, immigration policy must prioritize the recruitment of individuals with the experience to tackle Canada’s biggest challenges—including public service delivery, education, infrastructure, and economic growth.
Rather than adhering to static immigration caps, Bernhard urges a bold, data-driven strategy that aligns immigration intake with clear economic and social goals. Canada, he contends, must treat immigration not as a burden to manage but as a strategic opportunity to strengthen its future.