Canada Immigration Levels Plan 2025–2027
Canada is expected to welcome over 1.1 million new permanent residents by 2027, reflecting its commitment to economic growth and cultural diversity. The Canada Immigration Levels Plan 2025–2027 outlines Canada’s vision for immigration across three years, focusing not only on intake numbers but also on capacity building, labor market demands, and integration strategies.
Permanent and Temporary Resident Admission Targets
The Immigration Levels Plan sets annual targets for permanent and temporary residents, aiming to balance economic needs with sustainable population growth.
Permanent Resident Targets
This strategic decline aims to ease the pressure on housing, healthcare, and social systems.
Despite the lower numbers, Canada remains committed to welcoming skilled individuals and family members.
Temporary Resident Targets
Temporary resident categories include work permits, study permits, and other non-permanent pathways.
Recent policies aim to regulate temporary admissions to align with Canada's service and housing capacity.
These figures encompass work and study permits issued to new arrivals in Canada.
Emphasis on French-speaking Immigrants
The plan also aims to increase the proportion of French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec:
Key measures supporting this goal include
Priority Express Entry draws for French-speaking applicants.
Enhanced settlement programs tailored to Francophone communities.
Focus on Economic Immigration
Canada prioritizes economic immigration to address labor market needs. The Express Entry system is a crucial pathway for skilled workers, with selection draws focused on in-demand jobs.
Key Highlights:
The category-based draws for Express Entry will change every year to meet the current job market needs. For 2025:
Transport occupations are removed from priority categories.
Education professionals have been added as a new targeted group.
Focus remains on:
Healthcare
STEM
Skilled trades
French-speaking professionals
Recent graduates with Canadian experience
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)
PNPs empower provinces to select individuals aligned with local labor requirements and demographics.
Provinces and territories have their immigration programs to address regional labor shortages.
Provincial allocations will continue to increase through 2025, as PNPs are key to balanced regional growth.
Family Reunification
The plan maintains a strong commitment to family reunification, facilitating the sponsorship of spouses, partners, children, parents, and grandparents.
The plan facilitates sponsorship of:
Spouses and common-law partners
Dependent children
Parents and grandparents
Improvements in 2025–2027 include:
Faster processing times
Simplified documentation requirements
Digital transformation of the sponsorship process for ease and transparency
Refugees and Protected Persons
Canada continues to help people in need by offering a safe living place. The plan includes spaces for refugees and protected people, supporting those vulnerable around the world. The plan continues to support displaced and vulnerable populations through:
The Government-Assisted Refugees (GAR) program
The Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) stream
The Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program
Even as numbers modestly decline, the focus remains on:
Quality resettlement services
Access to healthcare, language training, and job integration
Supporting global refugee efforts through international partnerships
Canada Immigration Levels Plan: A Statistical Overview
Canada's immigration strategy is increasingly data-driven, focusing on sustainable population growth that matches the country’s economic capacity and infrastructure readiness. Below is a detailed breakdown of the planned admissions for both permanent and temporary residents from 2025 to 2027.
Permanent Resident Admissions by Category
Canada plans to welcome new permanent residents across four major categories. Here’s how the targets are distributed:
Economic Class
2025: 232,150
2026: 229,750
2027: 225,350
Family Class
2025: 94,500
2026: 88,000
2027: 81,000
Refugees and Protected Persons
2025: 58,350
2026: 55,350
2027: 54,350
Humanitarian & Other
2025: 10,000
2026: 6,900
2027: 4,300
Total Permanent Resident Admissions:
2025: 395,000
2026: 380,000
2027: 365,000
Temporary Resident Admissions by Program
Temporary resident numbers reflect Canada’s short-term labor and education goals. Below is the intake plan by program:
International Mobility Program (IMP)
2025: 285,750
2026: 128,700
2027: 155,700
Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)
2025–2027: 82,000 (constant across all years)
International Students
2025–2027: 305,900 (consistent across all years)
Total Temporary Resident Admissions:
2025: 673,650
2026: 516,600
2027: 543,600
Canada Immigration Levels Plan—Policy Reforms and System Modernization
The 2025–2027 plan also includes several reforms to modernize Canada’s immigration system and ensure efficient service delivery:
Digital transformation of application processes to reduce backlogs.
AI-assisted tools for faster and more accurate application screening.
Ongoing consultations with provinces, employers, and community groups for better alignment.
Regulating Temporary Immigration Growth
Due to the rising number of temporary residents, IRCC is now
Capping study permits to control unsustainable growth.
Tightening eligibility for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs).
Adjusting temporary worker programs to focus on sectors experiencing genuine shortages.
Summary of Canada Immigration Levels Plan
These efforts are expected to reduce temporary residents from 6.2% of Canada’s population in 2023 to 5% by 2027.
Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2025–2027 signals a shift toward quality over quantity. While the country remains firmly committed to immigration, the focus is now on:
Managing growth responsibly
Supporting regional needs
Integrating immigrants efficiently into society and the economy
By refining intake strategies and modernizing systems, Canada continues to set a global example in structured, inclusive, and forward-thinking immigration policy.
