Toronto, March 2 -- A Canadian cabinet minister has deleted a post accusing Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre of pandering to communities with promises of visas and direct connectivity to Amritsar. The post by Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, said, "As soon as we reduced immigration, both temporary and permanent, you continued to scurry around Canada, Pierre, pandering to communities promising visas to people you'd just met, promising no deportations, and, to top it all off direct flights to Amritsar. Embarrassing." Miller had served as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship from July 2023 to March 2025. While immigration levels surged while he was in charge of the ministry, it was also under him that the government started introducing policies to reduce the intake of immigrants, particularly temporary residents like international students. His post came in response to one from Poilievre attacking former Liberal immigration minister Sean Fraser of having "destroyed the immigration system in Canada." Poilievre also accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, stating that his "promise to fix (immigration) it was another illusion. He keeps foreign criminals here, allows them to get sentencing discounts, and pays deluxe benefits to fraudulent asylum claimants - benefits that Canadians don't get. Liberals will never clean up their own mess." Immigration remains an emotive subject in Canadian politics after the surge of newcomers during the tenure of then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau caused anti-immigration sentiment, bordering on xenophobia, to increase in the country. In a speech in Toronto last month, Canada's current Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, said when she was appointed to the post by Carney last spring, "the task was clear" and included restoring control and balance, and rebuilding confidence in the immigration system. As part of the process, Canada has capped international student numbers, made acceptance letter review mandatory to prevent study permit fraud and raise financial requirements. The decline follows policies instituted in the last quarter of 2023, as further restrictions were ordered later amid concerns in the country over a surge in temporary immigrants contributing towards a spike in housing affordability and placing pressure on public infrastructure. In its plans announced in November last year, the government projected a 7% decrease in the number of international students issued permits this year. IRCC noted that the number of study permits to be issued in 2026 will be capped at 408,000, including 155,000 visas issued to newly-arriving international students plus 253,000 extensions for current and returning students....