It’s hard to run a city, or country, when you don’t know how many people actually live in them.

How can public officials and businesses plan for housing, workers, schools, water supply, physicians, rental units or social services when they don’t know how many individuals need them?

Yet, according to experts, that is the problem in Canada, especially in the Toronto and Vancouver regions. The federal government isn’t being transparent about how many people in Canada remain in the country after their visas expire.

The predicament is coming to a head despite Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promises to bring population growth to a standstill and to “strengthen the border,” says Henry Lotin, an economist who often advises Canada’s banks, as well as Statistics Canada.

“It’s highly unlikely tha

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