Canada’s government lowers immigration levels.

October 24, 2024 — Ottawa — Today, the Honorable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, unveiled the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan. This initiative seeks to temporarily stabilize population growth to promote sustainable development in the long run. For the first time, the plan establishes controlled targets for temporary residents, which include international students and foreign workers, alongside those for permanent residents.

Immigration plays a vital role in Canada’s economic advancement. As the country reopened after the pandemic, businesses faced a workforce shortage. We implemented decisive strategies to attract top talent from around the globe to study and work in Canada, facilitating a quick economic recovery and helping to avert a recession.

In response to the shifting demands of the country, this transitional plan aims to reduce the strain on housing, infrastructure, and social services, ensuring that we can enhance both economic and social prosperity through immigration. This unprecedented strategy is designed to maintain the integrity of our immigration system and to equip newcomers for success, while providing Canadians with a well-organized immigration process.

The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan is projected to lead to a slight decline in population of 0.2% for both 2025 and 2026, followed by a rebound to 0.8% growth in 2027. These forecasts reflect the newly announced reduced targets across various immigration streams, as well as anticipated outflows of temporary residents due to a 5% target and other influences.

With this year’s levels plan, we have heeded the concerns of Canadians by lowering our targets for permanent residency. Compared to last year’s plan:

The target will drop from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025.
The target will decrease from 500,000 to 380,000 in 2026.
A target of 365,000 is established for 2027.
The plan also aims to reduce temporary resident volumes to 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2026. Recent measures indicate that Canada’s temporary population will significantly decline as a greater number of temporary residents transition to permanent residency or exit the country.

Specifically, compared to previous years, we expect the temporary resident population to decline by:

445,901 in 2025
445,662 in 2026
A modest increase of 17,439 in 2027
These reductions stem from several changes made in the past year, including capping international student numbers and tightening eligibility criteria for temporary foreign workers. These adjustments align with our long-term economic objectives aimed at attracting the best talent.

This plan will assist provinces, territories, and stakeholders in aligning their capacities, allowing for sustainable population growth as we encourage institutions to better support newcomers.

Additional Measures from the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan:

Facilitating the transition of more temporary residents currently in Canada as students and workers to permanent residency. These individuals will represent over 40% of permanent admissions in 2025 and are already integrated into Canadian society, contributing to the workforce without additional demands on social services.
Prioritizing long-term economic growth and key labor sectors, such as health and trades, with permanent resident admissions in the economic class projected to reach 61.7% of total admissions by 2027.
Enhancing Francophone communities outside Quebec and fostering their economic well-being, with Francophone immigration targets set at 8.5% in 2025, 9.5% in 2026, and 10% in 2027.
Through this plan, we aim to ensure that all individuals, including newcomers, have access to quality jobs, affordable housing, and essential social services in our beautiful country.

Statements
“Today’s announcement marks a significant advancement in addressing our nation’s evolving immigration requirements. While it’s evident that our economy needs newcomers, we recognize the pressures our country faces and must adapt our policies accordingly. These changes will ensure that immigration serves our nation effectively, providing everyone with access to quality jobs, housing, and support. We have listened to Canadians and remain committed to preserving the integrity of our system while managing population growth responsibly.”
— The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Key Facts
Canada’s population reached 41 million in April 2024, with immigration accounting for nearly 98% of this growth in 2023, 60% of which came from temporary residents.

This plan aims to adjust population growth following the post-pandemic surge, supporting sustained GDP growth and accelerating GDP per capita growth from 2025 to 2027 while improving housing affordability and reducing unemployment rates.

Reducing immigration volumes is intended to ease pressures on the housing market, with the housing supply gap projected to decrease by approximately 670,000 units by the end of 2027.

The temporary resident targets do not encompass short-term visitors or seasonal workers, as these individuals are not included in annual population estimates. These targets focus on the net new temporary residents entering Canada each year.

The Government of Canada has implemented strategies to manage temporary resident volumes, uphold the integrity of our immigration system, and protect vulnerable individuals, including:

Reforming the International Student Program
Tightening eligibility for temporary foreign workers
Revising post-graduation work permits
Adjusting work permits for spouses of international students and temporary foreign workers
According to Statistics Canada, immigrants significantly contribute across all sectors of Canada’s economy, particularly in healthcare, construction, and transportation. In the residential construction sector, immigrants account for 23% of all general contractors and builders.

Related Resources:

Backgrounder: 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan
2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan
Supplementary Information for the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan
Canada’s Immigration Levels Web Page
2024 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration
2024 Consultations on Immigration Levels – Final Report
Video: #ImmigrationMatters – Canada’s Immigration System
Press Release: Strengthening Temporary Residence Programs for Sustainable Volumes
An Immigration System for Canada’s Future
Policy on Francophone Immigration
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