Budget 2025 says Canada’s 2026-2028 immigration levels plan aims to
increase the number of economic immigrants coming to the country while
cutting temporary migration, largely through a dramatic reduction in
student visas.

The new levels plan cuts in half the planned number of student visas for the next
three years, bringing it down to 155,000 in 2026 from about 306,000 in the
previous year’s plan. The government plans to issue about 150,000 student visas
annually in both 2027 and 2028.

The new plan continues a previously announced reduction in the number of
temporary workers for 2026, with a revised target of 230,000, up slightly from the
previously targeted 210,000 for that year. The number is down significantly from
the nearly 368,000 temporary workers permitted into Canada for 2025. In the
past, more work visas have been allocated to the International Mobility Program
than to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

The budget document says that these targets will reduce temporary immigrants’
share of the population to less than five per cent by the end of 2027.

The budget document says the government recognizes the key role temporary workers
play in some sectors and will look to ensure rural, remote and tariff-hit businesses have
enough people. The government plans to admit about 380,000 new permanent
residents annually from 2026 to 2028.
The target for family reunification is being cut by about 4,000 immigrants compared to
the old plan, with 84,000 visas expected in 2026.
The number of refugees, protected persons and people receiving permanent residency
on humanitarian grounds is also being reduced in 2026, from 62,250 in the old plan to
54,300 in the new one.