Canada: 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan Announced

October 25, 2024

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Country / Territory

At a Glance

  • The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has announced the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which projects the number of permanent residents Canada plans to admit each year and sets targets for overall admissions per immigration category.
  • For the first time, it also includes controlled targets for temporary residents, specifically international students and foreign workers.
  • Through its plan, the government is also seeking to strengthen Francophone communities outside of Quebec and ensure the economic prosperity of Francophone minority communities across Canada.
  • These announcements are in line with the Canadian government’s aim to reduce demographic pressures from the rapid upscaling of immigration numbers in the country. 

The situation

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has announced the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which this time, aims to control foreign population growth in the short term.

For the first time, the levels plan includes targets for temporary residents, specifically international students and foreign workers, as well as for permanent residents.

Specific details of the plan include:

TOPIC IMPACT

Reducing permanent resident targets over the next three years.

    • from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025
    • from 500,000 to 380,000 in 2026
    • setting a target of 365,000 permanent residents in 2027
    • Although the approximate ratio of economic, family class, and humanitarian immigrants targeted remains the same, the result is fewer spots for individuals applying under the Express Entry and Provincial Nomination Programs.
    • Allocations in some programs, such as the Canadian Experience Class and Start Up Visa will decrease starting in 2026.

Reducing temporary resident volumes to 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.

    • These include international students and temporary workers admitted under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program. 
    • The arrival targets for temporary residents in the 2025-2027 plan are set at 673,650 in 2025; 516,600 in 2026; and 543,600 in 2027. Temporary resident targets will capture new arrivals only, meaning the number of new workers and students entering Canada each year.
    • Targets are not set for visitors arriving with temporary resident visas or electronic travel authorizations (eTAs), permit extensions, in-country study/work permit applications and asylum applicants.
    • Specifically, the government expects to see Canada’s temporary population decline by 445,901 in 2025; 445,662 in 2026; and a small increase of 17,439 in 2027.
    • These reductions are the result of a series of changes over the past year, including a cap on international students and tightened eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers, implemented to decrease volumes. It appears that the government will be relying on the already announced changes in the international student/foreign worker programs to meet their temporary resident targets.

Transitioning more temporary residents in Canada to permanent residents.

    • The government aims to target temporary residents already in Canada, such as students and foreign workers, to become permanent residents of Canada. 
 According to the government, these residents (which represent more than 40% of overall permanent resident admissions in 2025), are skilled, educated and integrated into Canadian society and will help support the workforce and economy without placing additional demands on the country’s social services because they are already established in Canada, with housing and employment. Individuals who do not qualify under such categories, especially those residing outside of Canada, may be impacted.

Focus on key labour market sectors such as health and trades.

    • Permanent resident admissions in the economic classes will reach 61.7% of total admissions by 2027.
 A sustained admission of permanent residents through the economic pathways in sectors with labor shortages will allow businesses to fill labor gaps. Targets for health care and trade occupations, as well as French language proficiency will increase in 2026 and beyond. 

Strengthening Francophone communities outside Quebec.

    • Of the overall permanent resident admission targets, Francophone immigration will represent 8.5% in 2025; 9.5% in 2026; and 10% in 2027. 
 The government is seeking to strengthen Francophone communities outside of Quebec and ensure the economic prosperity of Francophone minority communities across Canada.
  • Immigration Levels Plan. The Levels Plan is a projection of how many permanent residents Canada plans to admit each year and sets targets for overall admissions per immigration category. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship must table the Levels Plan in Parliament each year. For the first time, the levels plan also includes controlled targets for temporary residents, specifically international students and foreign workers.
  • Emphasis on reducing foreign population growth. The 2025-2027 plan aims to temporarily control immigration growth in Canada to help alleviate pressures on housing, infrastructure and social services and better manage the immigration system. The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan is expected to result in a marginal population decline of 0.2% in both 2025 and 2026 before returning to a population growth of 0.8% in 2027. During the past year, the government has been continuously implementing measures to manage the volume of temporary residents, including reforms to the international student program, tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers, post-graduation work permits and intra company transferees, among others, which is reflected in the targets. 

As Canada will hold a federal election in the upcoming months, there may be further changes announced in the future should the government’s intended recalibration of the immigration programs not achieve its goals. 

As the Levels Plan is woven into the overall immigration ecosystem, we are closely monitoring whether the reduction in targets will impact the already strained inland refugee claims process, as well as the processing of humanitarian and compassionate-based applications, either of which could also lead to elongated inland processing times.

Fragomen will continue reporting on relevant developments.   

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen. 

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