Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has signalled a major recalibration of temporary migration. According to details obtained by ET Online on October 20, 2026, the draft 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan will lower new temporary resident admissions to 385,000 next year and 370,000 in both 2027 and 2028. The biggest reductions fall on international students—whose arrivals will be capped at 155,000 in 2026—and Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) entries, which slide from 60,000 to 50,000 annually. At the same time, Ottawa will maintain the permanent-resident (PR) target at 380,000 per year and set aside up to 33,000 spaces so that in-demand temporary workers can convert more quickly to PR. Economic-class immigration will rise to 64 percent of total admissions by 2027, with expanded allocations under both the Federal High-Skilled and Provincial Nominee Program streams. The shift follows months of political pressure over housing shortages and wage stagnation, and dovetails with today’s release of Statistics Canada figures showing that temporary residents now account for 5.4 percent of the population—well above the government’s preferred ceiling of 5 percent. IRCC officials say the new mix should "right-size" population growth while still giving employers access to talent the domestic labour market cannot supply. For businesses, the message is twofold. First, employers that rely on lower-skilled TFWs or seasonal student labour face tighter quotas and longer lead times; workforce planning for 2027-28 should begin immediately. Second, the fast-track PR window for 33,000 workers offers an opportunity to retain high performers who are already trained and settled. HR teams should identify eligible employees and prepare documentation ahead of the formal launch of the 2026–28 plan, expected in November. International schools and student-recruitment agencies will feel the pinch most acutely. With study-permit targets falling nearly 20 percent from 2025 levels, competition for seats will intensify and provinces may impose additional attestation-letter caps. Schools should diversify recruitment markets and emphasise on-campus housing capacity—an increasingly important factor in permit approvals.
Source: The Economic Times
