The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has announced Canada’s 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan. This plan aims to balance short-term population growth with sustainable, well-managed growth in the long term. For the first time, the plan includes specific targets for temporary residents, such as international students and foreign workers, in addition to permanent residents.
Immigration has been central to Canada’s economic success and growth. After the pandemic, Canada prioritized immigration to address critical labor shortages, helping accelerate economic recovery and stave off a recession. The new levels plan is designed to address emerging needs, focusing on relieving pressure on housing, infrastructure, and social services, and supporting long-term prosperity.
The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan projects a slight population decrease of 0.2% in both 2025 and 2026, before a return to growth at 0.8% in 2027. This change reflects a reduction in targets across several Immigration streams and a focus on easing temporary resident volumes, aiming to reduce them to 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.
Canada’s new permanent resident targets are set as follows:
- 395,000 for 2025 (down from 500,000)
- 380,000 for 2026 (down from 500,000)
- 365,000 for 2027
Temporary resident reductions, impacted by recent policy changes like capping international student intakes and refining temporary worker criteria, are expected to reduce Canada’s temporary resident population by nearly 446,000 in both 2025 and 2026, with a slight increase in 2027.
Additional measures within the plan include:
- Transitioning existing temporary residents to permanent residents, who will comprise over 40% of permanent admissions in 2025
- Expanding economic immigration, focusing on critical sectors such as health and trades, with economic-class admissions to reach 61.7% by 2027
- Increasing Francophone immigration outside Quebec, with targets reaching 10% by 2027 Canada’s approach aims to ensure all newcomers can thrive by aligning immigration levels with available resources for housing, employment, and social services.
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Canada Ends Student Direct Stream and Nigeria Student Express Streams for International Students
The Student Direct Stream (SDS) was introduced in 2018 to provide faster processing for eligible post-secondary students. Over time, the SDS was expanded to include legal residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam. Similarly, Nigerian university students had access to a similar process through the Nigeria Student Express (NSE).
Canada’s goal is to strengthen program integrity, protect students from vulnerability, and ensure fair access to the application process for all students, fostering a positive academic experience. To align with this commitment, the SDS and NSE initiatives have been discontinued as of 2:00 p.m. ET on Nov 8, 2024.
Prospective students are now invited to apply through the regular study permit stream, which accepts Guaranteed Investment Certificates as proof of financial support. Canada remains dedicated to welcoming international students from around the world. Applications for SDS and NSE submitted before 2:00 p.m. ET on November 8, 2024, will still be processed under the respective streams. However, study permit applications submitted after this time will be processed under the regular study permit stream.
This change will not affect the eligibility of students from countries previously included in the SDS or NSE initiatives. All applicants must meet Canada’s study permit application requirements, regardless of whether they were eligible for the SDS or NSE.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Contact Marjorie at [email protected]
A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not a legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain, or formally seek advice from a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) in good standing of CICC. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RCIC’s.
