Canada continues to experience a substantial decrease in the number of temporary residents, with both international students and foreign workers arriving in significantly lower numbers this summer. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), July 2025 saw a sharp year-over-year decline in the number of new work and study permit holders entering the country.
Maple News reports that only 18,500 new temporary foreign workers landed in Canada in July 2025, a decline of 37% from the 29,595 who arrived in the same month last year. The drop in student arrivals was even steeper, down 55% to 7,685 students compared to 17,140 in July 2024.
In total, Canada admitted 20,550 fewer workers and international students in July 2025 than it did a year prior. These figures underscore a continued downward trend that aligns with recent government efforts to reduce the overall number of temporary residents in the country.
This trend has been evident throughout 2025. Data from IRCC reveals that new arrivals under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and study permits dropped significantly in the first half of the year. Between January and June 2025, student arrivals declined by 70% and worker arrivals by 50%, compared to the same time frame in 2024.
From January through July 2025, the cumulative decrease reached 235,070 fewer temporary resident permits issued than in the same period of 2024, highlighting the scale of the shift underway in Canada’s immigration landscape.
This marked decline follows the Canadian government’s broader immigration strategy to reduce the share of temporary residents to below 5% of the national population. Policy changes implemented earlier in 2024 included stricter requirements for employers hiring foreign workers and new processing caps for international student applications to ease pressure on housing, infrastructure, and public services.
The data signals a new era in Canadian immigration policy—one that favours long-term, sustainable immigration over rapid, short-term growth through temporary status. While these measures aim to address economic and social balancing concerns, they also raise important questions about labour market shortages and the future of Canada’s international education sector.
Maple News will continue to monitor developments on temporary immigration policies and their implications for students, workers, and Canadian employers.