On November 7 2025 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released its long-anticipated 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan. The headline figure—380,000 new permanent residents per year—looks almost unchanged, but the real story for multinational employers is buried in the fine print: Ottawa will slash the number of NEW temporary residents (international students, Temporary Foreign Worker Program and International Mobility Program entrants) from 673,650 in 2025 to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in both 2027 and 2028. That is a steep 45 % reduction in one year.
Economic immigration retains pride of place, representing 64 % of total permanent admissions by 2028. In absolute terms, the plan still admits roughly 239,800 skilled workers and provincial nominees annually, but employers who rely on short-term visas to fill immediate gaps will face a far smaller pool of work-permit holders. The plan also raises the target for Francophone immigration outside Québec to 10.5 % and promises faster transitions to permanent residence for 115,000 protected persons and 33,000 temporary foreign workers.
![Canada Unveils 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Cuts Temporary Resident Intake by 45 %]()
IRCC argues the pivot is necessary to cool the hottest labour and housing markets and to bring the temporary population below 5 % of Canada’s total by 2027. Business groups counter that sudden caps risk widening skills shortages in agriculture, construction and advanced manufacturing, sectors already stretched thin by demographic change. Firms are being advised to accelerate labour-market impact assessments (LMIAs), audit existing foreign-talent inventories and explore intra-company transfer or Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) options before quotas bite in January.
For universities, the hit is immediate: the international student intake target drops 49 % to 155,000 next year, threatening revenue models built on overseas tuition. Colleges are scrambling to revise recruitment pipelines, invest in domestic recruitment and bolster bridge-to-work services so they remain attractive once fewer study permits are issued.
The plan’s stability on permanent numbers gives mobility managers some predictability for long-term transfers, but the sharp contraction in temporary inflows means that Canada—long seen as the easiest G-7 destination for quick deployments—is about to get more competitive. Global employers should map mission-critical roles against new caps, prioritise scarce work-permit slots for essential talent, and consider hybrid or remote solutions when headcount cannot be landed on Canadian soil within the new limits.
Economic immigration retains pride of place, representing 64 % of total permanent admissions by 2028. In absolute terms, the plan still admits roughly 239,800 skilled workers and provincial nominees annually, but employers who rely on short-term visas to fill immediate gaps will face a far smaller pool of work-permit holders. The plan also raises the target for Francophone immigration outside Québec to 10.5 % and promises faster transitions to permanent residence for 115,000 protected persons and 33,000 temporary foreign workers.
IRCC argues the pivot is necessary to cool the hottest labour and housing markets and to bring the temporary population below 5 % of Canada’s total by 2027. Business groups counter that sudden caps risk widening skills shortages in agriculture, construction and advanced manufacturing, sectors already stretched thin by demographic change. Firms are being advised to accelerate labour-market impact assessments (LMIAs), audit existing foreign-talent inventories and explore intra-company transfer or Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) options before quotas bite in January.
For universities, the hit is immediate: the international student intake target drops 49 % to 155,000 next year, threatening revenue models built on overseas tuition. Colleges are scrambling to revise recruitment pipelines, invest in domestic recruitment and bolster bridge-to-work services so they remain attractive once fewer study permits are issued.
The plan’s stability on permanent numbers gives mobility managers some predictability for long-term transfers, but the sharp contraction in temporary inflows means that Canada—long seen as the easiest G-7 destination for quick deployments—is about to get more competitive. Global employers should map mission-critical roles against new caps, prioritise scarce work-permit slots for essential talent, and consider hybrid or remote solutions when headcount cannot be landed on Canadian soil within the new limits.
