Photo: Reuters file
Canada is set to significantly reduce the number of immigrants it admits into the country for the first time in years, signaling a significant policy shift as the government attempts to maintain its hold on power. According to a government source, Canada plans to welcome 395,000 new permanent residents in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027—a decrease from the 485,000 planned for 2024. Simultaneously, the number of temporary residents is expected to drop by approximately 30,000 to around 300,000 in 2025.
The new immigration targets were initially reported by The National Post. Canada has historically taken pride in its welcoming stance towards newcomers. However, in recent years, the national discourse on immigration has shifted, partly due to escalating housing prices. Many Canadians have found themselves unable to afford housing as interest rates have risen over the past two years. Concurrently, the influx of immigrants has driven Canada's population to unprecedented levels, further intensifying housing demand and prices.
This issue has become one of the most polarizing topics in Canadian politics, with a federal election scheduled no later than October 2025. Polls indicate an increasing number of Canadians believe the country has too many immigrants. There has been a noticeable backlash against newcomers, with a rise in reported hate crimes targeting visible minorities, according to advocates and community members. Migrant advocates have strongly criticized the policy change.
"We are witnessing one of the most severe rollbacks of migrant rights in Canadian history," stated Syed Hussan, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network Secretariat. "Reducing the number of permanent residents directly harms migrants, forcing them to remain temporary or undocumented, and pushing them into more exploitative job situations." The office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not immediately available for comment.
The new immigration targets also represent a departure from the pandemic era when the government relaxed rules for temporary residents to address labor shortages. Last year, Canada had planned to bring in 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025 and the same number in 2026. As of the second quarter of 2024, there were 2.8 million temporary residents, including workers and students, in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.
In an August interview, Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Reuters, "Canadians want an immigration system that is not out of control." The Liberal government, currently trailing in the polls and facing internal pressure to replace their leader, has been working to regulate immigration. Under Trudeau, Canadian immigration officials have approved fewer visas this year, and border officials have increasingly turned away visa-holders, according to data obtained by Reuters.
The government aims to reduce the share of temporary residents in the population to five percent over three years; it was 6.8 percent in April. Additionally, Canada has capped the number of international students it will admit and tightened rules on temporary foreign workers under a program designed to bring non-Canadians to the country for temporary work. This program has been criticized for suppressing wages and leaving workers vulnerable to abuse.
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