‘I cleaned bathrooms to get here’: Indian-born entrepreneur says Trudeau’s immigration policies have brought ‘the worst criminals’ to Canada

An Indian businessman in Canada criticizes the former Prime Minister justin trudeau Because of his immigration policies. He said the surge of newcomers has brought “the worst criminals” to the country and harmed immigrants like him.Vijay Sapps said in a post on X that he came to Canada as a student about 26 years ago and built a life cleaning restrooms, dishwashers and gas stations. “I can tell you that Trudeau is the worst thing that could happen to Canada and immigrants like me,” he wrote. “He brought the worst criminals to Canada. Criminals who came here with fake degrees, fake IELTS scores, who couldn’t find jobs in India, and destroyed everything for everyone, and the immigrants who were most affected,” Sappos added.Sappos said rising immigration numbers under Trudeau’s Liberal government have put too much pressure on public services and made it difficult for people to speak out, amid what critics often call xenophobia. He said there are large numbers of temporary residents, such as international students and foreign workers, and claimed some of them used fake documents to come to Canada.Canadian immigration policy under Trudeau is designed to support economic growth, address labor shortages and respond to an aging population. The annual permanent resident target has increased from about 300,000 pre-pandemic to 485,000 in 2024, with plans to reach 500,000 by 2025-26. The post-pandemic surge has also increased the number of temporary residents to more than 7% of the population by 2024, putting pressure on housing, health care and other services.In response to growing concerns, Trudeau acknowledged in October 2024 that immigration levels were uneven and announced planned cuts to immigration levels for 2025-27. The permanent resident target is lowered to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027. The plan also aims to reduce the number of temporary residents, which is planned to be about 385,000 in 2026, far lower than before.Vijay Sapps is a Canadian entrepreneur and the CEO of Ela Capital. He is of Indian and Sri Lankan descent and lives in Toronto, Canada.