In March, then-immigration minister Marc Miller said the federal government was 'reserving space' for up to 6,000 undocumented construction workers to apply for permanent residence.

Economists are urging the government to factor in the estimated 500,000 undocumented residents in Canada as it consults on its forthcoming immigration levels plan.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab is consulting on targets for the number of temporary and permanent residents Canada plans to allow in the next three years, in what some consider a litmus test of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s position on immigration.

The immigration levels are annually presented in October or November to help planning for housing, schools, health care and infrastructure.

In October, former prime minister Justin Trudeau and then-

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