If you are planning to study or work in Canada, the new targets matter to you. For 2026 the government has cut the number of new temporary arrivals it plans to admit by roughly 43 per cent. In the same plan, the permanent residence target barely moved.
Those are two different stories, and it is worth keeping them apart. The permanent door is still open. The temporary one is considerably narrower.
The numbers
The 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan sets these targets for new temporary arrivals:
| New temporary arrivals | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 385,000 | 370,000 | 370,000 |
| Workers (work permits) | 230,000 | 220,000 | 220,000 |
| Students (study permits) | 155,000 | 150,000 | 150,000 |
The comparable figure for 2025 was 673,650. From this year onward you are competing for a little over half of last year’s capacity.
Note what these counts actually cover. The student figure is new study permits only, for programmes of six months or more at a designated learning institution. The worker figure is new work permits, issued under either the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program.
Why Canada did this
One number explains most of it. In 2018, temporary residents were 3.3 per cent of Canada’s population. By 2024 that share had more than doubled, to 7.5 per cent.
That pace put pressure on housing, health care and schools. The stated aim is to bring the temporary share back below five per cent of the population by the end of 2027.
The decline had already begun. New temporary foreign worker arrivals are down roughly 50 per cent this year, and new international student arrivals roughly 60 per cent compared with 2024.
The other half: permanent residence
Here the picture changes. The permanent residence target holds at 380,000 a year across all three years. It was 395,000 in 2025, so the reduction is modest.
The composition matters more than the total. The economic share rises from 59 to 64 per cent. Put plainly, close to two in every three people admitted will arrive through a work or skills route.
Two one-time measures sit alongside this. Up to 33,000 work permit holders will be moved to permanent residence sooner, during 2026 and 2027. Protected persons already in Canada will have their status made permanent. If you are currently working in Canada, follow both closely.
What this means for you
If your plan was study first, then a work permit, then permanent residence, the hardest step is now the first one. The 155,000 figure covers the entire world, so you will need to apply earlier and prepare more carefully for both the admission and the permit.
If you already have skilled work experience and a solid language score, your position is different. The routes that lead directly to permanent residence have not narrowed — their share of the total has grown. Work out where you stand before deciding anything: calculate your Express Entry CRS score.
One detail that is easy to miss. These caps apply to new arrivals. Extending a study permit or work permit you already hold is not counted against them.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, Annex: Canada’s 2026–2028 Levels Plan, on canada.ca.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
