More cuts to Canada’s immigration arrivals in 2026

Canada will welcome fewer permanent residents this year, as the federal government moves forward with changes and cuts to its immigration system.

Ottawa is expected to admit 380,000 permanent residents, down roughly by 15,000 compared to 2025, when Canada was projected to admit 395,000 permanent residents.

It’s a downward trend for Canada’s immigration numbers in recent years. This year’s intake is substantially lower than 2024, when the federal government admitted 483,640 permanent residents into the country.

As the federal government reduces its immigration levels plan, an immigration lawyer says Canada needs the support of newcomers.

“Increase the levels room. Take care of the people that are here,” Ravi Jain said, the founder of Jain Immigration Law. “Canada needs immigrants, it needs people. You know, for all labour force growth, it comes from immigration.”

It comes as Canada’s population growth declined by 0.2 per cent over the third quarter of 2025, according to data released by Statistics Canada in December.

“We still have an aging population, a need for caregivers, for personal support workers. There’s so much need in terms of construction, transportation, and those are sort of the lower skill. Then you have other sectors where we desperately need people in higher skill areas as well.”

Cuts for international students, temporary workers and refugees

The federal government is making various changes to its immigration system. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it’s committed to reducing temporary resident volumes through departures, program limits and lower immigration levels to less than 5 per cent of the population by the end of 2027.

The federal government has slashed the number of student visas that are issued by more than half. Ottawa will issue 155,000 student visas in 2026, which marks a significant drop from last year. In 2025, the federal government had planned to issue 437,000 study permits.

Jain says Ottawa should do more for international students who are in the country.

“They’re here, they came in good faith.You know, they worked afterwards, and now, they’re being told to go home. So, I think that it would’ve been more better, and more ethical, and more moral, to transition people to permanent residents,” Jain said.

Ottawa will admit fewer temporary workers this year compared to 2025. The federal government will accept 230,000 temporary workers, down by more than 135,000 since last year.

The federal government will also admit 56,200 refugees and protected persons this year, a slight drop from 2025.

Instead, the federal government is expected to tighten the immigration and refugee system through Bill C-12.  Bill C-12 would bar individuals from filing refugee applications with the Immigration and Refugee Board if they have been in Canada for more than a year.

It would also give the government the power to stop accepting new immigration applications, even cancelling existing applications for the “public interest.” 

It replaces elements of the Liberals’ Bill C-2, or Strong Borders Act, which received opposition from the federal NDP and advocacy groups. Bill C-2 is currently at the second reading before the House of Commons.

Bill C-12 has been cleared by the House of Commons and is now awaiting Senate review, which isn’t expected before February. The Senate has adjourned for a two-month recess.

“A lot of the measures that are included in this bill in my view are not necessary,” Anna Triandafyllidou said, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in migration and integration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“For instance, we have a very good asylum system, we have an asylum system that takes into account how long people have been in the country and for what status.”

IRCC seeks French-speaking permanent residents

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab in her 2025 annual report on immigration, singled out French-speaking permanent residents.

“We have set and exceeded our ambitious targets in recent years, welcoming record numbers of French-speaking newcomers,” Diab wrote.

It’s part of federal government’s plan to attract French-speaking permanent residents, who will reside outside of Quebec.

French-speaking permanent resident admissions is projected at 30,267 for this year, or nine per cent. That’s compared to 29,325 French-speaking residents in 2025, or 8.5 per cent .

Over the next two years, that intake is expected to grow to 9.5 per cent in 2027, and 10.5 per cent by 2028.

But Jain says the French language ability is edging out a lot of people from the system.

“If someone comes in with very low points_, in terms of their education, work experience, but they speak French, they get a targeted draw. So, you know, the points get dropped for them. Is that about economically what’s in the interest of Canada or is it a political goal? I would suggest to you it’s a political goal.”

Immigrants bring skills and resources: expert

The IRCC says the 2026-2028 immigration levels plan prioritizes economic immigration to attract the “best talent in the world and fill critical labour gaps in high-demand occupations.”

Triandafyllidou says immigrants in Canada bring a variety of skills and resources into the country.

“They bring new networks with their countries of origins. They bring to us their know-how, their skills, but also their transnational networks.”

“Right now, in global geopolitics, China and India are important players in several millions of Canadians who are of Indian or Chinese origin.”

Triandafyllidou says Ottawa should help newcomers find pathways that will maximize their talent.

“There are many immigrants who come here not just with studies but with professional experience, with experience in entrepreneurship and for some reason we don’t manage to get them where they should be.”

“We know that outcomes of new permanent residents have improved in the last 10 to 15 years. The selection system has yielded results, but we need to do more,” Triandafyllidou said.