Canada Releases 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan

[author: Alexander Witt]

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have released its plan outlining detailed admission targets and substantial shifts in immigration strategy.

The Plan sets permanent resident admissions at 380,000 annually through 2028 and reduces temporary resident arrivals to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027–2028, with a goal of lowering Canada’s temporary population to below 5% of the total population by 2027.

Economic immigration remains the core focus, accounting for 64% of admissions by 2027–2028, primarily through the Federal High Skilled and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP). The Plan also increases Francophone immigration outside Quebec to 10.5% by 2028 and maintains strong commitments to family reunification (21–22%) and refugee/humanitarian programs (13%).

Key initiatives include the transition of 115,000 Protected Persons to permanent residence and up to 33,000 temporary foreign workers to permanent status by 2027, ensuring faster integration and retention of skilled talent.  This approach reflects Canada’s commitment to balanced, sustainable immigration, aligning labor needs with long-term economic growth while upholding humanitarian and family values.

Temporary Resident Target:

1. New Temporary Resident target for 2026: 385,000 – down from 673,650 target in 2025 (reduction of 43%), with a target of 370,000 in 2027 and 2028
   1. Total amount of Work Permits: 230,000 in 2026 – down from 367,750 in 2025 (reduction of 37%) with a target of 220,000 in 2027 and 2028
   2. Total amount of Students:  155,000 in 2026 – down from 305,900 in 2025 (reduction of 49%) with a target of 150,000 in 2027 and 2028

Permanent Resident Target:

1. New Permanent Resident target: 380,000 per year (2026-2028) a 3.8% reduction from 395,000 in 2025
   1. Economic (skilled/PNP/business): 239,800 – 63.1% of target (rising to 244,700 for 2027 and 2028)
   2. Family Reunification: 84,000 – 22.1% of target (lowering to 81,000 for 2027 and 2028)
   3. Refugees/Protected Persons/Humanitarian & Other: 56,200 – 14.8% of target (lowering to 54,300 for 2027 and 2028)

The biggest impact from Canada’s 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan is that international student permits are significantly reduced, with annual intakes expected to fall from roughly 305,000 in 2025 to 155,000 in 2026 — a 49% decrease.  Recent data from Canada’s immigration department, reported by Reuters, indicates a sharp increase in study permit refusals for applicants from India. In August 2025, approximately 74% of Indian applications for study at Canadian post-secondary institutions were declined, up from 32% in August 2023.  By comparison, the overall refusal rate across all international student applications remained steady at around 40%, while applications from China saw a 24% refusal rate during the same period.

The number of Indian study permit applicants has also declined significantly, falling from 19,175 in August 2023—when Indian nationals represented just over one-quarter of all applicants—to 3,920 in August 2025, a 79% decrease.  In 2023, Canadian authorities identified approximately 1,550 study permit applications linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance, the majority originating from India, according to data shared with Reuters by Canada’s immigration department.  In the following year, an enhanced verification system detected over 14,000 potentially fraudulent letters of acceptance across all applicant groups.

For businesses, the change underscores the need to diversify entry-level recruitment sources, strengthen partnerships with domestic institutions, and explore alternative pathways—such as co-op placements, remote internships, and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) initiatives—to maintain access to emerging global talent.

Recommended actions:

1. Audit current temporary staff and examine eligibility for PR conversion.
2. Revise recruitment and internship strategies that rely on international students or temporary workers to reflect lower incoming volumes.