“I think the challenge with the non-permanent resident targets is that there are none,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in an interview with the CBC News. “We have to take a look at that and rein it in in many areas, but we need to be clear about what that means, exactly.”

Nearly one million students were admitted to Canada in 2023, a record high, the federal data shows. Such a surge was driven by international students and temporary workers.

Meanwhile, rent for Canadians rose 22% in the last two years, driven by a persistent housing shortage.

“It isn’t immigrants that raised interest rates, but volume is volume and it’s something that we need to look at,” Miller added.

According to documents obtained by the Canadian press, bureaucrats warned the government two years ago that a spike in migration would spike home prices. But the government pushed ahead with its ambitious plan.

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Pierre Poilievre, the conservative leader, stressed that the government needed to build a link between the number of homes built and the number of people the country invites as new Canadians.

The immigration minister added that a cap is needed to reduce the demand for housing, but he did not share the amount of number.

He was of the view that reducing the number of students admitted to Canada is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution to the housing crisis.