Canada Cuts Temporary and Permanent Immigration in Latest Immigration Levels Plan

Canada's 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan has just been released. Although the immigration targets for permanent residents have decreased to 395,000 in 2025, it does not significantly affect those hoping to live and work in Canada in the coming years.

The Immigration Levels Plan brings good news for those already living and working in Canada, as immigration through Express Entry is not expected to decrease significantly. However, changes to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) numbers have raised questions among applicants.

Overview of the Changes:

• Express Entry immigration is not expected to decrease significantly from 2024 to 2025, according to the immigration levels plan.
• A new In-Canada subcategory focuses primarily on candidates from the Canadian Experience Class.
• Category-based draws are set to change, removing some key occupations.
• The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) category will see a substantial decrease in allocated targets for permanent residents.
• The new plan for temporary residents gives us insight into the number of temporary residents we can expect in the coming years: 305,900 students and 367,750 temporary workers in 2025. These numbers show significant reductions compared to 2023, with students and IMP workers being most affected.
• These immigration levels are likely to cause a 0.2% population decrease in 2025 and 2026.

How Many Immigrants Will Canada Receive? For the first time, the immigration levels plan includes targets for both permanent and temporary residents, such as international students and temporary foreign workers.

Permanent resident admissions will gradually decrease over the period, from 395,000 in 2025 to 365,000 in 2027, with the majority (62%) focused on economic immigrants.

Here is a breakdown of the 2025-2027 immigration levels plan for permanent residents:

Key Changes:

• The immigration levels plan demonstrates a significant commitment to facilitating the transition of those already in Canada as workers or students to permanent resident status. Under the "In-Canada focus," 82,980 temporary residents are expected to transition to permanent status in 2025.
• Priority will be given to health occupations, trades occupations, and French proficiency.
• Surprisingly, the target allocated to the PNPs has seen a significant reduction compared to last year’s plan. With an allocation of 55,000 for 2025 and no projected growth, PNP targets have been cut by 50% from those projected in the 2023 immigration levels plan.
• This year marks the first time Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan includes targets for temporary residents, in response to a March 2024 government announcement to reduce temporary residents to 5% of Canada’s total population.

Here are the expected numbers for temporary residents from 2025 to 2027:

• 50% Fewer International Students: International student levels will decrease significantly. In 2023, 682,889 study permit holders were admitted. The 2025 target will be less than half of that number – 305,900.
• Temporary Foreign Worker Program Decreases But Remains Stable: Canada plans to bring in 82,000 people through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program each year from 2025 to 2027, a decrease of more than 50% compared to 2023 levels.
• International Mobility Program Sees a Major Decrease: The International Mobility Program will also see a significant reduction in 2025, with a target of 285,750 individuals.

Why Are Immigration Targets Decreasing? The reduction in permanent immigration levels follows a series of measures in recent months to curb temporary immigration, including the International Student Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated that some temporary streams had become "overheated," and the government is now reportedly planning to scale back plans to maintain historically high permanent immigration levels.

Canada's 2019-2021 immigration levels plan — the last plan published before the pandemic — set targets of up to 350,000 new permanent residents annually. So, while Canada is cutting immigration now, the expected levels will still be higher than in the years leading up to the pandemic.

This presents an opportunity for people worldwide to live and work in Canada. With a population exceeding 41 million people, annual PR admissions of 395,000 in 2025 represent about 1% of the existing population. In other words, it’s safe to say that Canada remains a welcoming place for newcomers. Even with these reduced levels, Canada’s immigration policy will likely accept more immigrants than many other G7 countries.