Canada will see cuts to temporary immigration over the next three years, the federal government said in its budget document on Tuesday, with targets effectively freezing for permanent residents.
The federal government announced its 2026-28 Immigration Levels Plan as part of its budget, which was tabled by Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Each year, the government announces the number of permanent residents it plans to bring in over the next few years. Last year, the government also started setting targets for temporary immigration.
According to the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, the latest one put out by the federal government before the budget, Canada had been on track to reduce the number of expected new permanent residents from the previous target of 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025.
The federal government had previously said this number would fall further to 380,000 by 2026 and 365,000 by 2027.
As of August, Canada has welcomed 276,870 new permanent residents.
In Budget 2025, the federal government laid out its plan to “stabilise” those numbers for permanent residents, keeping the level at 380,000 per year for three years from 2026 to 2028, down from 395,000 in 2025, though slightly higher than the previous goal of 380,000 by 2026 and 365,000 by 2027.
The current levels plan includes increasing the share of economic migrants from 59 per cent to 64 per cent.
The decline in temporary resident numbers was more dramatic, with a nearly 43 per cent drop from 673,650 temporary residents in 2025 to 385,000 in 2026, and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.
However, to address labour shortages in tariff-hit industries, the government said it “will consider industries and sectors impacted by tariffs and the unique needs of rural and remote communities.”
The government said the current targets will keep permanent resident arrivals at less than one per cent of the total population and will reduce the number of temporary residents to less than five per cent of the total population by the end of 2027.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the “costly” budget would add to the national debt.
“On behalf of all the Canadians who can no longer afford to eat, heat or house themselves because of Liberal inflation, we Conservatives cannot support this costly Liberal budget,” Poilievre said.
As part of its wider immigration strategy, Ottawa will also seek to attract high-skilled migrants to Canada.
As an “early measure,” the government has proposed “a targeted, one-time initiative” to recruit over 1,000 highly qualified international researchers to Canada.
In September, the U.S. government said it would charge a US$100,000 fee for issuing H1-B visas – a kind of visa that American employers use to hire high-skilled foreign workers.
In Tuesday’s budget, Canada said it will launch an “accelerated pathway” for H1-B visa holders to come to Canada.
The budget also announced the government’s plan to fast-track permanent resident applications of work-permit holders next year, with a plan to “accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026.”
For immigrants with experience in fields experiencing labour shortages in Canada, particularly healthcare, Canada will spend $97 million over the next five years to establish a Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund.
This is aimed at helping newcomers use their foreign credentials as nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals to fill labour gaps in Canada.
The program will be focused initially on the healthcare and construction sectors.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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