Breaking News: Canada Reduces Immigration Goals – Here’s What You Need to Know!
Targets for permanent residents
This is especially true for targets for permanent residents.
The government announced the following decreases in the goals for admissions of permanent residents during the following three years in the Immigration Levels Plan, which was made public on October 24:
- 2025: 395,000 which is below the target of 485,000 set for 2024 and the 500,000 target set in the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan.
- 2026: 380,000, down from the Immigration Levels Plan for 2024-2026 of 500,000.
- 365,000 in 2027.
The government is increasing the proportion of the focus on economic immigration as it is reducing immigration overall.
The 2025 targets for economic immigration have gone down to 232,000 from 281,000, a cut of only 17%.
The expectation is that over 40% of economic immigrants will be temporary residents of Canada.
For the upcoming three years, the government has outlined the admissions breakdown for permanent residents as follows:
Immigration Category | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
Total PR admissions and ranges | 395,000 (367,000 – 436,000) | 380,000 (352,000 – 416,000) | 365,000 (338,000 – 401,000) |
French-speaking admissions outside of Quebec | 8.5% (29,325) | 9.5% (31,350) | 10% (31,500) |
Economic Immigration | 232,150 (215,000 – 256,000) | 229,750 (214,000 – 249,000) | 225,350 (207,000 – 246,000) |
Family Reunification | 94,500 (88,500 – 102,000) | 88,000 (82,000 – 96,000) | 81,000 (77,000-89,000) |
Refugees, Protected Persons, Humanitarian and Compassionate, and Other | 68,350 (63,500 – 78,000) | 62,250 (56,000 – 71,000) | 58,650 (54,000 – 66,000) |
It was a rare and new practice that the Canadian Immigration Minister was but it was led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada had invited immigration into the country, something which Trudeau said had made the country’s economy a wonder throughout the world. Miller underlined that Canada remains committed to immigration; Trudeau repeated the same concept – immigration to Canada continues.
Provincial Nominee Program Reduction
The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) admissions goals for this year’s Plan have been lowered by almost 50%:
- 2025: 55,000, which is less than the 110,000 and 120,000 goals set for 2024 and 2025, respectively, last year.
- 2026: 55,000, a decrease from the Plan’s 120,000 goal from the previous year.
- 55,000 in 2027.
The federal government’s immigration strategy has undergone a substantial change as a result of the lowering in PNP targets.
Federal high-skilled economic immigration has increased.
A greater percentage of economic immigration is being allocated by the federal government to the federal high skilled (FHS) programs run by Express Entry.
The FHS targets have actually increased, while the PNP targets being drastically reduced:
- 2025: 124,680, which is higher than the goals of 110,770 for 2024 and 117,500 for 2025 set last year.
- 2026: 123,230, which is more than the 117,500 goal set for 2026 the previous year.
- 118,730 in 2027.
Canada Government totalled the “Federal Economic Priorities” and “In-Canada Focus” categories from this year’s supplemental data to determine these figures for FHS for this year’s Plan. Federal Business is not included. FHS was presented by the government as a separate category in the supplemental information from the previous year.
Growth in the number of French speakers living outside of Quebec
As a percentage of all admissions for permanent residence, the federal government will keep raising the goals for the admission of French-speaking immigrants living outside of Quebec:
- 8.5% in 2025.
- 2026 in 9.5%.
- 10% in 2027.
Levels of temporary residents
The plan for this year also contains goals for admissions of temporary residents. Targets for temporary residents were absent from earlier plans.
Following a flurry of changes to Canada’s immigration system this year, especially with regard to the number of temporary residents (those with work or study permits) in the nation, the announcement was made on October 24th 2024. By the end of 2026, the government hopes to lower the number of temporary residents as a percentage of Canada’s total population from 7% to 5%.
For the next three years, the government has suggested the following breakdown for temporary resident admissions to Canada:
Temporary Resident (TR) Category | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
Total TR Arrivals and Ranges | 673,650 (604,900 – 742,400) | 516,600 (435,250 – 597,950) | 543,600 (472,900 – 614,250) |
Workers | 367,750 | 210,700 | 237,700 |
Students | 305,900 | 305,900 | 305,900 |
Because of a reduction in work permits for the International Mobility Program (IMP) – 285,750 for 2025 and only 128,700 for 2026 – there was a decrease in the number of workers from 2025 to 2026.
Work permit quota for the next three years Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) would remain at 82,000 annually.
Temporary visa holders will eventually transition to permanent status by participating in technologies such as provincial nominee programs (PNPs) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Express Entry draws so that the general ratio of temporary residents in the country will reduce from the current 7% to 5%.
According to government estimates, the number of temporary residents in Canada will drop by roughly 445,000 in 2025 and another 445,000 in 2026 before rising by roughly 17,000 in 2027. The government anticipates that the admission of temporary residents as permanent residents and the expiration of temporary residents’ status will cause this reduction.
2024 cap on applications for study permits
To reduce the number of foreign nationals in Canada possessing a study permit, IRCC has introduced a new first-ever admission limit on January 22, this year.
This plan, which was initially a two-year policy, wanted to ensure that the college and university student could not be given more than 360000 new study licenses by 2024. This was done later, although this rule has become an integrated permanent rule under the category of Canadian international student program The above rule was further enhanced to cover study permits for the masters and the doctorate students as well.
Due to this change, the IRCC has also changed the PGWP’s requirements throughout the year. The immigration agency initially announced in January that from this September, overseas students studying programs with curriculum licensing agreements will not be granted a PGWP.
Program Reforms for Temporary Foreign Workers
Recently, there has been criticism of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
Trudeau criticized Canadian companies for “exploiting cheap foreign labour” in his announcement on October 24th 2024 and underlined the need for reform.
The government temporarily halted the completion of labour market impact assessments (LMIAs) for the low-wage stream of the TWFP in the Montreal region earlier this year. Shortly after, it also halted the processing of LMIAs in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) where the unemployment rate was 6% or higher.
Additionally, the government reduced the prior two-year maximum for TFWP work permits to one year for the low-wage stream.
Prior actions taken to lower the number of PGWPs, study permits, and spousal open work permits
Miller outlined the following adjustments on September 18th 2024 which he anticipated would occur over the following three years:
300,000 fewer study permits, 150,000 fewer spousal open work permits and 175,000 fewer post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) .
These modifications included restricting PGWPs to college graduates who completed programs related to in-demand jobs; requiring language proficiency for PGWPs; requiring master’s programs to last at least 18 months in order for master’s students’ spouses to be eligible for spousal open work permits; and restricting spousal open work permits to spouses of employees in in-demand jobs.
Regardless of their field of study, graduates of qualifying bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs will remain eligible for PGWPs.
To be eligible for PGWPs, college graduates must have a CLB 5, and university graduates must have a CLB 7.
About the Immigration Levels Plan
Canada’s immigration policy blueprint is called the Immigration Levels plan which is provided by the government.
Each year’s Immigration Levels Plan contains plans of the next year, and two years preceding it. Even though the goals set for the years two and three are relative and changeful, the goals for the nearest year are most often unchangeable.
The 2025 projection numbers are still higher than the pre-COVID targets set by Canada, even though the number of new permanent residents has been a target of 160,000 for 2025.
The targets, for all foreigners who may be in Canada for an immigrant stay—like parents and grandparents on temporary visas, or refugees and asylum seekers—are excluded from the plan. Also, excluded from the reckoning are the seasonal labour.
Justification for the modifications
These modifications, according to Miller, are a “middle of the road” approach and “we have a controlled immigration plan that we can be proud of.”
“We’re focused on winning the next election,” Trudeau stated, implying that the modifications were made for political reasons.
Conclusion:
Canada’s new Immigration Levels Plan for 2025-2027 marks a significant shift in its immigration strategy, with a 20% reduction in overall immigration targets. The focus is now on prioritizing economic immigration, reducing reliance on temporary residents and implementing stricter controls on work and study permits. While these changes aim to address economic and social challenges, they reflect a politically driven effort to balance immigration levels with domestic considerations. Despite the reductions, Canada remains committed to immigration as a cornerstone of its economic and cultural fabric, with an emphasis on high-skilled immigrants, French-speaking admissions and integration of temporary residents into permanent status.
Contact Information:
Sangam Immigration Services Ltd
- Mississauga Office: 220 Burnhamthorpe Rd W, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- West Bengal Office: Alipurduar, West Bengal, India
- Email: info@sangamimmigration.com
- Phone: +1 905 298 1 298 (Canada), +91 8016920606 (India)
Website: www.sangamimmigration.com