How we got to 41 million - For decades, Canada has been a model of inclusive immigration

Canada had grown more quickly than expected-by 1.1 million people over the previous 12 months, mostly due to a huge wave of international students and temporary foreign workers. And yet, despite the fanfare, this population boom wasn't a good-news story. Because there were not enough homes for all those new people.

- By Stephen Maher - Photograph by Dmytro Varavin

When Canada's population hit 40 million people last June, the federal government could not contain its excitement. "It's a strong signal that Canada remains a dynamic and welcoming country, full of potential," said Anil Arora, Canada's chief statistician. Canada had grown more quickly than expected-by 1.1 million people over the previous 12 months, mostly due to a huge wave of international students and temporary foreign workers. And yet, despite the fanfare, this population boom wasn't a good-news story. Because there were not enough homes for all those new people.

Immigration is at the heart of Canada's success. It's the gas that keeps our economic, cultural and social engines running. But in the last few years, the federal government has admitted too many people without a plan for where they would live. Back in 2013, Statistics Canada projected that Canada would have just 38.7 million people by 2023-a massive miscalculation. The consequences showed up everywhere. Tent encampments popped up all over the place, even in small towns. Rent soared, house prices flew out of reach. Half of all Canadians either did not have a doctor or could not get an appointment. Foreign students were shocked to arrive in Canada to find that they had to rent a bed in a shared room. Some newcomers were forced to live in shelters and, when the shelters were full, to sleep in the streets. A year later, it is obvious that the government has slow-walked us into a catastrophe. It would be wrong to say that immigration caused it, since that implies immigrants are to blame. It was the Liberals who kept bringing people in. They didn't see the crisis coming.