Toronto 
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has publicly criticized Canada’s immigration policies, linking the country’s high foreign-born population, 23%, the highest in the G7, to stagnating living standards.
In a post on X, Vance stated, “No nation has leaned more into ‘diversity is our strength…’ immigration insanity than Canada. It has the highest foreign-born share of the population in the entire G7 and its living standards have stagnated.”
Citing per capita GDP data, Vance criticized the country’s multicultural model and blamed Canadian leadership for economic underperformance. “Your stagnating living standards have nothing to do with Donald Trump or whatever bogeyman the CBC tells you to blame. The fault lies with your leadership, elected by you,” he wrote.
According to the Fraser Institute, “Canadian living standards have been stagnant since long before President Trump retook office—indeed, the current standard of living is below the level it was in the middle of 2019 ($59,905) before the pandemic. Moreover, stagnant living standards aren’t a universal problem. For perspective, per-person GDP (adjusted for inflation) in the United States grew by 11.0 per cent from mid-2019 to mid-2025.”
Per OECD data, in the second quarter of 2025, Canada experienced only a modest increase in real household income per capita, rising from 0.1% in Q1 to 0.2%, despite a 0.4% decline in real GDP per capita.
This contrasts with the United States, where income growth accelerated from 0.5% to 0.6%, alongside economic expansion. The United Kingdom also saw a recovery, with income per capita rebounding from a 0.8% decline to 0.3% growth and GDP rising by 0.2%.
From a Canadian perspective, while income gains suggest some resilience, the concurrent GDP contraction sets Canada apart from peers like the U.S. and UK, where both indicators improved.
In response to ongoing economic challenges stemming from various factors, including Donald Trump’s tariffs, Canada has reduced its immigration targets and announced a slew of nation-building projects and other measures in the latest budget.
