The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that for many years, the federal Liberal Party made high immigration numbers a central plank of its economic plan. The Globe's Matt Lundy and Mark Rendell write that in a policy U-turn, the government's pro-growth ethos is now on pause. Ottawa announced Thursday that it is cutting back immigration levels over the next three years. Now, Canada's population is set to post small declines in 2025 and 2026. It amounts to a dramatic reversal. The country's population grew by 3.2 per cent last year or nearly 1.3 million people. As the numbers ramped up, however, more Canadians started to question the strategy, tying it to unaffordable housing, inaccessible health care and other concerns. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said Friday that slower population growth will affect overall economic output. BMO economist Robert Kavcic said he is not overly concerned by potentially slower economic growth, given the stress that rapid inflows are putting on housing and infrastructure. The immigration plan is "going to have a pretty noticeable impact in a lot of areas that policy-makers are really struggling to get under control," he said. "The obvious one would just be rent inflation."