Canada cuts immigration targets to witness population decline in 2025, 2026

Canada cuts immigration targets to witness population decline in 2025, 2026

Ottawa: The Canadian federal government has announced a new immigration plan that will temporarily slow population growth in the short term, leading to a slight population decline in 2025 and 2026. This pause comes as part of the country’s new 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan.

Canada’s population has been steadily increasing each year since 1867, largely due to immigration. According to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, the new plan will result in a small decline of 0.2 percent in the population for both 2025 and 2026, but growth is expected to return in 2027 with an increase of 0.8 percent.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government was criticised for its plan to allow 500,000 new permanent residents into the country in each of the next two years. On Thursday, he said next year’s target will now be 395,000 new permanent residents and that the figure will drop to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

This forecast takes into account reduced immigration targets across several immigration streams over the next two years. The statement also mentions that factors like temporary resident outflows, natural population losses, and other influences will contribute to this decline.

For the first time, the immigration plan includes specific targets for both temporary residents, such as international students and foreign workers, and permanent residents. Canada’s population has grown significantly in recent years, reaching 41 million by April 2024, with immigration responsible for almost 98 percent of this growth in 2023. Temporary residents made up 60 percent of this growth.