Newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has vowed to cap the number of temporary workers and international students at five per cent by 2027 in a drastic measure to mitigate the housing crisis bedevilling the nation.

In a public address on Friday, Mr Carney said the five per cent cap had become imperative to control the immigrant population and the support the government could offer.

“We would turn out immigration to sustainable levels by capping the total number of temporary workers and international students at less than five per cent of Canada’s population by 2027,” Mr Carney said. 

“It’s a sharp drop from the recent high of 7.3 per cent. It will help ease strains on public housing on public infrastructure and social services.”

Mr Carney implicitly rebuked his predecessor for allowing the nation to welcome an influx of immigrants post-pandemic at unsustainable levels. In March during his campaign, he said the surge in immigration triggered the housing crisis.

The prime minister said this immigration cap will not apply to the world’s best brains—people he needs to build a strong economy.

“At the same time, we would work to attract the best talents in the world to build our economy,” Mr Carney said.

The Canadian leader is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on May 6  where he plans to negotiate trade tariffs and have other discussions that can benefit both nations.

“We can have a bigger boost to our economy, to incomes, to jobs, by focusing on building one Canadian economy, building these nation-building projects, by focusing on getting productivity up, by reducing revenue waste, by driving investment in this country,” the prime minister said. “We’re going to focus on that while we have these negotiations with the Americans, and if negotiations with the Americans take longer, so be it.”