12/05/2025
Canada’s 2025–2027 Immigration Plan
Purpose:
Every year, Canada sets targets for how many people can immigrate. The new plan covers both permanent and temporary residents for the first time.
Main Changes
✔ Permanent immigration will decrease starting in 2025
✔ Temporary residents (international students + temporary workers) will be reduced
✔ Goal: Temporary residents must not exceed 5% of Canada’s total population by end of 2026
How Canada Decides These Targets
✔National economic needs (jobs, skills shortages)
✔Regional needs (especially outside big cities)
✔Settlement capacity (housing, services, integration)
✔Consultations with provinces, newcomers, Indigenous communities, rural areas, and Francophone groups
Permanent Resident Targets
✔ Decrease of 105,000 permanent residents in 2025
Key priorities:
✔40% of immigrants will be people already living in Canada as temporary residents
Focus on workers Canada already needs, especially:
✔Healthcare workers
✔Skilled trades
✔Economic immigration increases to 62% by 2027
✔Family reunification (spouses, children, parents, grandparents): about 24% in 2025
✔ Support for vulnerable populations (ex: refugees, human rights defenders, minorities
✔ More Francophone immigration outside Quebec
8.5% (2025) → 9.5% (2026) → 10% (2027)
Temporary Resident Targets
X Canada will reduce temporary residents over 3 years
Expected population drop:
2025: –445,901 people
2026: –445,662 people
2027: Small increase of +17,439
Limits and reforms include:
✔Cap on international student permits (10% further cut in 2025)
✔Stricter rules for Post-Graduation Work Permits
✔New limits on employers hiring low-wage temporary workers
✔Fewer work permits for spouses of students/workers
✔Asylum (Refugee Protection) Measures
✔Visa restrictions for some countries (e.g., Mexico)
✔Faster processing while checking for fraud
✔Tools to reduce fake asylum claims while protecting genuine refugees
Expected Impact
X Small population decline: −0.2% in 2025 & 2026
✔ Growth returns in 2027 (+0.8%)
🏘 Housing improvement:
Canada expects 670,000 fewer homes needed by 2027 due to population moderation.
💼 Economic benefits:
✔Strong GDP growth continues
✔Higher income per person (GDP per capita goes up)
✔Better housing affordability
✔Lower unemployment rates
In Short
Canada is slowing immigration temporarily to:
🔹 Reduce pressure on housing
🔹 Focus on workers already in Canada
🔹 Bring in people needed for health care and skilled trades
🔹 Strengthen Francophone communities
🔹 Protect vulnerable refugees
Source:
Each year, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship tables the Immigration Levels Plan, a forward-looking snapshot of immigration targets for the next three years.