Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has signaled that he plans to increase immigration into Canada after his government scaled back arrivals following a sharp rise in population growth under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In a recent interview, Carney said the government had brought the immigration system under control and suggested the next step would be a measured increase in population.

“Now the question starts to become, when do we resume some controlled increase in the population, which is the nature of Canada?” Carney said. “So that will happen, and we just want to make sure that we’ve got it under control.”

Carney pointed to declines in the number of international students, temporary foreign workers and asylum seekers entering the country as evidence that the government’s restrictions had taken effect. His comments came ahead of the federal government’s next immigration levels plan, which is expected to outline targets for 2027 through 2029.

Canada’s existing 2026-2028 plan reduced targets for new temporary residents while setting annual permanent resident admissions at 380,000 for 2026, 2027 and 2028. The government has said the approach is intended to ease pressure on housing and public services while prioritizing workers needed in key sectors.

However, Carney’s suggestion of a future increase has drawn criticism from Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner, who argued that Canada should not raise immigration levels.

“Immigration levels need to go down, not up,” Rempel Garner said.

The government’s next plan will help clarify whether Carney intends to raise immigration targets and how any increase would be implemented. The announcement is expected to shape debate over housing affordability, population growth and the country’s demand for workers.