OTTAWA - One economist argues the federal Liberals’ renewed pledge to throttle immigration levels over the next few years will weigh on Canada’s economic growth.

The federal budget tabled last week recommitted to a previous target of reducing the share of temporary residents in Canada to five per cent of the total population — down from about 7.5 per cent in late 2024 — but pushed the timeline for that goal back a year to 2027.

That plan would see 385,000 temporary residents — workers and students — admitted in 2026, reduced to 370,000 in the following two years.

The 2026 target includes 230,000 temporary workers, down from the nearly 368,000 planned for 2025.

Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics, said temporary resident growth is on track to exceed

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