Canada plans to significantly restrict the number of international students and workers entering the country. Canada’s 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan aims for 155,000 new student arrivals in 2026-2028, which is 49% fewer than last year’s target.
Also, Canada plans to hire 230,000 foreign temporary workers between 2026 and 2028, a 37% decrease from the previous year’s target.
Overall, Canada’s target for new permanent residents for 2026-2028 is set at 380,000, which is 4% lower than the target from the previous year.
Budget 2025 announces that the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan will stabilise permanent resident admission targets at 380,000 per year for three years, which is 4% lower than the target from the previous year. In 2025, new permanent residents in Canada were 395,000.
The new plan will also reduce the target for new temporary resident admissions from 673,650 in 2025 to 385,000 in 2026, and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.
However, the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan proposes to increase the share of economic migrants from 59 per cent to 64 per cent. The permanent economic immigration will account for 64% of all immigration in 2027 and 2028, the highest proportion in decades.
Budget 2025 also proposes to undertake a one-time measure to accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027.
These targets keep permanent resident arrivals at less than one per cent of the population beyond 2027 and will reduce the total number of temporary residents to less than five per cent of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.