In this fact‑checking video, the narrator evaluates Pierre Poilievre’s claims about Liberal immigration policy. He confirms that Liberal governments historically admit more immigrants than Conservative ones, citing the rise in immigration as a share of the population after the 1993 Chrétien win and the drop after the 2006 Harper win, with a modest increase under Trudeau (0.71% → 0.85%). He notes that the Liberals recently cut overall immigration by over 20% and tightened temporary resident and international student rules. The video then examines public opinion data from Environics, showing a sharp decline from 69% (2022) to 36% (2023) of Canadians saying immigration is not “too much,” a shift coinciding with Poilievre’s heightened rhetoric. Despite this, two‑thirds still view immigration as an economic benefit. The narrator also addresses the rise in temporary foreign workers (109,000 → 240,000, 2018‑2023), explaining that COVID‑induced labour shortages drove the increase and that the program originated under Pierre Elliott Trudeau and was expanded under Harper, not created by Justin Trudeau. He contextualizes immigration as a long‑standing nation‑building tool dating back to Sir John A. Macdonald, arguing that Poilievre’s framing exaggerates partisan differences. The video concludes by urging viewers to consider other pressing issues and to subscribe for a follow‑up on Poilievre’s debt claims.
Chapters
Is Pierre Poilievre lying about the Liberals' immigration policies? Yes and no. Let's fact-check it. First, do Liberals bring in more immigrants when they are in power? Yes, they do. Historically, when a Liberal government takes office, immigration numbers go up. In 1993, when Jean Chrétien took over from the Tories, immigration as a percentage of population increased. In 2006, when Stephen Harper came in, it went down. In 2015, Trudeau's numbers went back up. So, Polyev is right about the trend, but let's talk about the claim that Trudeau's immigration policies are "out of control." Under Harper, immigration sat at about 0.71% of the population. Under Trudeau, 0.85%. That's a difference of less than two-fifths of a single percentage point. That's not an open-door policy. That's the difference between a single-file line and a slightly faster-moving single-file line. Polyev isn't fighting radical policies, he's fighting math. As well, in the last year, the Liberals cut immigration by more than 20%. They slashed temporary resident numbers and tightened up international student requirements. Second, Poilievre says that most Canadians agree with him. The majority now think there's too much immigration. This is true, but is missing some context. For the last 50 years, the polling firm Environics has asked Canadians the same question: is there too much immigration? In 2022, 69% of Canadians said no. In 2023, that number had dropped to 51%. Today, just 36% disagree. So what changed in 2023? That was Pierre Poilievre's first full year as opposition leader, and one of his biggest talking points was, of course, immigration. It turns out when you spend all your time screaming, "The sky is falling!" people tend to start looking up. But when asked whether immigration is a net economic benefit to Canada, more than two-thirds of Canadians still say yes. Third, Poilievre says the Liberals have doubled the number of temporary foreign workers. This is true. Between the 5-year period of 2018 to 2023, it went from about 109,000 to almost 240,000. But Poilievre leaves out a pretty important detail: COVID. The pandemic resulted in severe labour shortages across the country, and Canadian employers just could not fill the role. Also, despite what Poilievre sometimes implies, the Temporary Foreign Worker program was not created by Justin Trudeau. It was created by his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. And in fact, it was the Stephen Harper government that later massively expanded it. Back then, the Liberals actually criticized the program, saying it allowed employers to displace Canadian workers. Now that the Liberals have scaled it back in some areas, the Conservatives are calling that a disaster. Back and forth. Immigration is not some new Liberal experiment. The first Prime Minister to prioritize immigration was Sir John A. Macdonald, a Conservative. He was all but obsessed with bringing in workers to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, and settle the West. Immigration is not a radical liberal plot. It's literally how this country was built. So while Poilievre has a few of his trendlines correct, he is wildly overstating the difference between the two parties. But why debate reality when you could just shout "crisis" into a microphone and watch the poll numbers move? If Pierre Poilievre really wants to talk about things that are out of control, maybe he should look at climate change, or corporate greed, or the looming privatization of our healthcare system. Or his own Twitter feed. Because immigration, that's just Canada doing what it's always done: growing. For part 2, fact-checking Poilievre's claims on the debt, subscribe to my YouTube channel because facts still matter, even if some people don't like them.
