Municipal leaders from several mid-sized cities used a national conference this week to press the federal government for more advance notice and funding tied to immigration levels planning.
City officials say population growth in recent years has outpaced the construction of new housing, schools and primary care capacity in their communities.
“We’re not arguing against newcomers. We’re arguing that the services need to arrive before the people do, not years after,” said one mayor during a panel discussion.
The federal government points to record settlement funding and says provinces, which control health care and much of housing policy, share responsibility for capacity planning.
A revised multi-year levels plan is expected to be tabled in the fall, with municipal input sessions scheduled over the summer.
