Canadian Telecom Firms Blame Immigration Policies for Mobile Subscriber Slowdown

b}}[8m4mvqxlttorrp4eic6g_media_dl_1.png Statistics Canada

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(Bloomberg) — For years, Canada’s top telecom providers rode a wave of high immigration, collectively adding hundreds of thousands of new mobile phone subscribers most quarters. Those days are over. 

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Canada’s three biggest wireless firms — BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. — all cited tighter immigration rules when explaining to investors over the past two quarters why subscriber growth has slowed. The trio recorded fewer than 54,000 net new mobile subscribers in the first quarter, the lowest number in four years. 

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Two years ago, the country’s population grew 3.1%, a rate not seen since the 1950s, largely due to an influx of foreign students and temporary workers. But last year, as it became clear the housing supply and the health care system were straining from this growth, the federal government enacted measures meant to stem the tide. 

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As a result, Canada plans to admit nearly 20% fewer permanent residents this year than its target in 2024, as well as fewer foreign students.

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BCE saw a small decline in net mobile phone subscribers in the first quarter, which it said was partly due to “slowing population growth attributable to government immigration policies.” The company’s revenue is falling, which was a consideration in its decision to slash its dividend by over half — the first cut in 17 years.

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Telus also said reduced immigration hampered its mobile subscriber growth when it reported earnings on Friday. And Rogers, which has the largest number of wireless customers, reported a weak quarter of growth on that metric and also cited “slowing population growth as a result of changes to government immigration policies.” 

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The Canadian government has capped foreign-student visas in order to shrink the country’s temporary immigrant population, which saw explosive growth after the Covid-19 pandemic. International students, as well as temporary foreign workers, contributed to much of Canada’s population increases in 2022 and 2023. This, in turn, supported the large gains in new mobile subscribers in the third quarters of those years.

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In 2023, Canada’s population growth was among the fastest in the world. That’s no longer the case — growth in 2024 fell to 1.8% and may turn negative in 2026 if the government sticks with its efforts to limit the number of non-permanent residents it allows in. 

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—With assistance from Randy Thanthong-Knight and Christine Dobby.

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