Canada reduces immigration: 2025-2027
What to expect in 2025-2027
On October 24, 2024, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Marc Miller, introduced the Immigration Levels Plan for 2025–2027. This new plan aims to slow short-term population growth while ensuring balanced, long-term expansion. For the first time, it includes set targets for temporary residents, such as international students and foreign workers, alongside those for permanent residents.
Immigration has been a cornerstone of Canada’s economic development. After reopening post-pandemic, Canada faced labor shortages that required urgent action to support business recovery. Canada responded by welcoming skilled individuals from around the world to study, work, and contribute to its economy, which helped accelerate recovery and stave off a recession.
This transitional approach to immigration is designed to ease current pressures on housing, infrastructure, and social services while positioning Canada for sustained growth in the future. By balancing newcomer admissions and maintaining program integrity, the government aims to meet Canadians’ expectations for a well-regulated immigration system.
Under the new levels plan, Canada’s population will see a modest decline of 0.2% in 2025 and 2026, resuming growth with an anticipated 0.8% increase in 2027. These forecasts account for revised targets across immigration streams, a reduction in temporary resident admissions, and other factors.
In line with Canadians’ feedback, the permanent resident targets have been reduced compared to previous years:
395,000 in 2025 (down from 500,000),
380,000 in 2026,
and 365,000 in 2027.
The plan also intends to limit the number of temporary residents to 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2026. Due to measures introduced this year, the temporary resident population is expected to decrease significantly as more people transition to permanent status or return to their home countries.
Specifically, the projected changes in Canada’s temporary resident population are:
a reduction of 445,901 in 2025,
a reduction of 445,662 in 2026,
and a slight increase of 17,439 in 2027.
These adjustments include caps on international students and stricter eligibility for temporary foreign workers to improve the quality of Canada’s temporary resident programs. By doing so, the government aims to attract highly qualified individuals and maintain a sustainable population growth rate.
The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan also includes:
Increasing the number of existing temporary residents, such as students and workers, who will transition to permanent residency. These individuals already have housing and jobs, easing the pressure on social services.
Focusing on economic growth in key areas like healthcare and trades, with the economic class comprising 61.7% of all permanent resident admissions by 2027.
Supporting Francophone communities outside Quebec, with Francophone immigration targets set at 8.5% for 2025, 9.5% for 2026, and 10% for 2027.
The overarching goal is to ensure that all residents, including newcomers, have access to quality jobs, affordable housing, and essential services.
Quick facts
Canada’s population grew to 41 million in April 2024, with immigration driving nearly 98% of this growth in 2023—of which 60% came from temporary residents.
This population adjustment plan is expected to sustain Canada’s GDP growth and improve housing affordability, with an estimated reduction in the housing gap by 670,000 units by 2027.
The targets for temporary residents in this plan exclude short-term visitors and seasonal workers. To protect vulnerable populations and uphold program integrity, the government has also reformed policies for international students, temporary foreign workers, post-graduation work permits, and work permits for spouses of temporary residents.
Statistics Canada reports that immigrants contribute significantly across Canada’s economy, notably in healthcare, construction, and transportation. For example, they comprise 23% of all general contractors and residential builders in Canada’s housing sector.
