How does the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan affect new permanent residence applicants?
If we exclude the most recent years (2021-2023), the number of temporary and permanent residents that will be admitted to Canada remains historically high. Canada will be inviting almost 400,000 individuals and families to become PRs during each of the next three years.
The emphasis on reuniting families does not change - this has always been a central tenet of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the government remains committed to reuniting Canadian citizens and permanent residents with their overseas family members.
Immigrants continue to be essential to Canada’s economic success and growth, and this is emphasized in the Minister’s new release below. Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs can be solid choices for many applicants, and it is worth the effort to achieve the highest scores possible to increase chances of selection.
We always advise clients to submit the strongest application possible, and this hasn’t changed with the recent announcement. Ideally, applicants should submit a fulsome and perfected application the first time. However, previous refusals or other complexities (e.g., inadmissibilities, misrepresentation) may be addressed in subsequent applications and our team is able to advise on the best way to move forward.
We understand that every client has their own unique story and reason for coming to Canada. We listen carefully and provide honest guidance.
2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan
From: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Backgrounder
Each year, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship tables the Immigration Levels Plan, a forward-looking snapshot of immigration targets for the next three years.
The plan provides permanent resident admissions targets for 2025, with notional commitments for 2026 and 2027. For the first time, we’re extending our levels plan to also include targets for temporary residents, taking into account the full scope of all newcomers and helping reduce temporary resident volumes to 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.
Development of the levels plan
When developing the Levels Plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) considers
priorities and objectives for immigration, including those set out in the Immigration Refugee and Protection Act
economic and regional needs
international obligations and commitments
processing capacity
the capacity to settle, integrate and retain newcomers
Throughout the year, IRCC engages with a broad range of stakeholders and partners, including provinces and territories, to help inform our plan. IRCC also conducts public opinion research through surveys and focus groups with newcomers, Canadians living in rural areas, Francophones living in communities outside of Quebec, as well as Indigenous Peoples.
Findings from these consultations and public engagement initiatives informed the Immigration Levels Plan and are published in the Levels Consultation Report.
Permanent resident targets
Permanent resident programs include economic streams, family reunification, refugees and protected persons, and humanitarian and compassionate admissions.
This year’s levels plan reduces permanent resident targets starting in 2025 and forecasts decreases for the following two years, resulting in a pause in population growth in the short term to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth and economic prosperity for the long term.
The plan
represents an overall decrease of 105,000 admissions in 2025, as compared to projected 2025 levels
prioritizes in-Canada applicants and pathways for those already here
More than 40% of anticipated permanent resident admissions in 2025 will be from those who are already in Canada as temporary residents.
Research has demonstrated that newcomers with in-Canada experience have positive long-term success. These skilled, educated newcomers can continue to support the workforce and economy, without placing additional demands on our social services.
Adjustments will be made to our economic immigration streams to prioritize transitions of workers already here to permanent residents and to be responsive to labour market needs—our in-Canada focus. We will put emphasis on our federal economic priorities in programs, including the Canadian experience class and regional immigration programs, to attract workers we need, such as in health care and trades occupations.
focuses on economic immigration, with approximately 62% of total permanent resident admissions that will be dedicated to the economic class, in key sectors such as health and trades, by 2027
continues to reunite families and loved ones, including spouses, children, parents and grandparents. In 2025, nearly 24% of overall permanent resident admissions will be allocated to the family class
upholds Canada’s long-standing commitment to resettle the world’s most vulnerable, including human rights defenders, LGBTQI+ refugees, religious and ethnic minorities, and women and children in precarious situations
strengthens Francophone communities outside Quebec and supports their economic prosperity. Of the overall permanent resident admission targets, Francophone immigration will represent
o 8.5% in 2025
o 9.5% in 2026
o 10% in 2027
These targets are augmented from last year’s plan and allow for a continued increase in volume year-over-year of Francophone admissions outside Quebec, despite decreased permanent resident levels.
Temporary resident targets
In March 2024, Canada announced a plan to decrease the number of temporary residents to 5% of the total population over the next three years, including temporary foreign workers and international students. Starting in 2025, Canada will have targets for temporary residents that will capture the number of new workers and students arriving in Canada:
Student arrivals are aligned with the previously announced cap.
Worker arrivals are those under the International Mobility Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Given temporary resident reduction measures announced in September this past year, Canada’s temporary population will decrease over the next few years as significantly more temporary residents will transition to permanent residents or leave Canada compared to new ones arriving. Specifically, compared to each previous year, we will see Canada’s temporary population decline by
445,901 in 2025, and
445,662 in 2026, and
will be followed by a modest increase of 17,439 in 2027
Temporary resident targets were calculated by assessing a number of factors, such as the number of individuals expected to depart Canada in each program (such as when a permit expires), individuals transitioning to permanent residents, approval rates for each program, estimated renewal rates and other factors.
As such, categories excluded from the temporary resident targets, but included in the stock of temporary residents are as follows:
Work or study permit extensions or change of status from within Canada (since we would be counting an individual’s status more than once). This is factored into the outflows.
Seasonal workers who enter and leave Canada within the same year (since they aren’t a part of our year-end population count).
Asylum claimants who are seeking protection in Canada (since they are entitled by law to have their claim assessed so we can’t control the volumes as we do with other programs).
Measures designed to achieve the 5% target
International student cap: IRCC introduced an annual cap on international student study permits, including a further 10% reduction in 2025 relative to 2024 targets.
Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP) reform: IRCC tightened eligibility requirements for the PGWPP to better align the program with immigration goals and labour market needs.
Temporary Foreign Worker Program reform: Employment and Social Development Canada introduced a 10% cap on employers hiring temporary foreign workers under the low-wage stream, and announced an increase to the starting hourly wage for temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream by 20%.
Limiting work permits for spouses of temporary residents: IRCC is tightening work permit eligibility for spouses of international students and temporary foreign workers.
For more information, please consult our latest news release on strengthening temporary residence programs for sustainable volumes.
Asylum
Like many countries, Canada is experiencing more asylum claims as the number of displaced people worldwide continues to grow, and that contributes to growing volumes. To align with our humanitarian responsibilities, the government has been working on several measures to address integrity issues and strengthen the in-Canada asylum system, including
implementing a partial visa requirement for Mexican nationals
improving claims processing while maintaining the fairness and integrity of the asylum system, as announced in 2024
reviewing visa decision-making, so that our highly trained officers have the right tools to detect fraud and reduce the number of non-genuine visitors
Impact of the plan
The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan is expected to result in a marginal population decline of 0.2% in both 2025 and 2026 before returning to a population growth of 0.8% in 2027.
The plan will reduce the housing supply gap by approximately 670,000 units by the end of 2027.
Continued robust GDP growth and enable GDP per capita growth to accelerate throughout 2025 to 2027, as well as improve housing affordability and lower the unemployment rate.
