Canada has entered a major new phase in immigration planning with the release of its updated 2025–2027 strategy — a plan that reshapes how the country manages population growth, labour needs, and mounting pressure on housing and public services. For the first time, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has paired permanent-resident targets with formal caps on temporary residents, signalling a decisive shift toward stabilizing overall population inflows.
A central element of the plan is a significant reduction in permanent resident admissions beginning in 2025. Ottawa is lowering its intake targets by more than 100,000 compared to earlier projections, a move officials describe as a temporary “pause” designed to restore long-term balance. Nearly 40 per cent of newcomers expected next year are already living in Canada as students, workers, or visitors — a deliberate strategy to favour individuals who have Canadian experience and integrate more quickly while placing less immediate strain on housing and settlement systems.
Economic immigration will remain the dominant pillar, reaching 62 per cent of all permanent resident admissions by 2027. Programs such as the Canadian Experience Class and regional pathways for health care workers, skilled trades, and high-growth industries are set to expand. Family reunification holds steady at roughly one quarter of next year’s allocations, and Canada continues to preserve spaces for refugees, human rights defenders, and those fleeing global conflicts. Francophone immigration outside Quebec will also rise to 10 per cent by 2027.
The most dramatic changes, however, involve temporary residents. For the first time, Canada is setting annual targets for international students and temporary foreign workers. The goal is to bring the temporary population down to 5 per cent of the national population by the end of 2026, largely through planned attrition, expirations, and transitions rather than mass removals. Ottawa expects temporary resident numbers to drop by more than 400,000 people in both 2025 and 2026. Seasonal agricultural workers and asylum claimants are not included in these targets due to their separate legal categories.
To reach these goals, the government is rolling out sweeping policy reforms. International student caps will tighten further in 2025, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program is being redesigned to align more directly with labour market needs. Employers hiring low-wage temporary foreign workers will face a strict 10 per cent cap, while wages in high-skill categories will rise. Eligibility for spousal work permits will narrow for both students and temporary workers. On the enforcement side, Ottawa is strengthening asylum processing and fraud-detection tools, revising visa rules for Mexican travellers, and updating systems to prevent abuse in visitor applications.
Federal projections show that Canada may experience a very slight population decrease — around 0.2 per cent — in both 2025 and 2026 before returning to growth in 2027. By that time, Ottawa estimates the plan will reduce national housing shortages by more than 600,000 units and support stronger economic outcomes by improving productivity, easing pressure on social services, and creating a more stable flow of skilled workers. Ultimately, the 2025–2027 roadmap marks one of the most significant recalibrations of Canada’s immigration system in decades, aiming to balance opportunity, economic strength, and long-term sustainability.