Canada’s temporary immigration to be slashed; government says country’s capacity is full

In its new immigration plan, unveiled Tuesday, Nov. 4, alongside the new budget, the federal government announced plans to significantly reduce the number of temporary immigrants admitted while keeping permanent residency unchanged.
Under the plan, Canada will accept just 385,000 temporary immigrants (mostly international students) next year — about 43 percent fewer than the 2025 target. That number will drop to about 370,000 per year in the following two years. As a result, the total number of temporary visas by 2026 will be more than 40 percent lower than this year.
In contrast, the government plans to grant about 380,000 permanent residences each year over the next three years, the same number as last year. Under the plan, economic permanent residences through programs such as Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) will account for about 64 percent of the country’s total permanent immigration capacity.
The government explained the decision by saying that the rapid growth of the temporary immigrant population has put significant pressure on the housing, education and health care markets, and that Canada can no longer accommodate this volume of immigrants. The main goal of these changes is to return the immigration process to a “sustainable and manageable” level.
Currently, non-permanent residents make up about 7.5 percent of Canada’s total population, and the government wants to reduce this proportion to less than 5 percent by 2028.
At the same time, Canada continues to emphasize the admission of French-speaking immigrants from outside Quebec. Under the new program, between 30,000 and 35,000 permanent residence permits will be issued to French-speaking applicants each year for the next three years to strengthen the presence of French-speaking communities in various provinces of the country.