Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will begin incorporating targets for temporary residents into its Immigration Levels Plan, starting in the fall of 2024. This marks a significant policy shift aimed at managing population growth and ensuring long-term economic stability.
The Immigration Levels Plan currently sets annual targets for the number of new permanent residents welcomed to Canada each year over a three-year forecast period. Until now, the plan did not account for temporary residents, despite their growing impact on Canada’s labor market and housing infrastructure.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller emphasized that while targets for temporary residents will be introduced, they are not intended to function as strict caps. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that IRCC may impose limits on applications in specific streams if necessary.
Canada has historically placed no formal limits on permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), International Mobility Program (IMP), Intra-Company Transfers (ICT), or trade-oriented work permits like those under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). That will start to change as the federal government aims to bring the share of temporary residents down to 5% of the population within the next three years—from the current 6.2%, which equated to around 2.5 million people in 2023.
“Canada has become addicted to temporary foreign workers,” Miller stated, highlighting concerns about over-reliance on short-term labor. This policy adjustment reflects Ottawa’s drive to rebalance immigration streams and prioritize sustainable population growth.
Earlier in 2024, the government implemented a two-year cap on international study permits to address similar concerns regarding temporary population surges. The new approach indicates a broader effort by IRCC to regulate all facets of temporary migration more strategically.
As part of this strategic rebalancing, Maple News has learned that IRCC will also expand domestic draws for permanent residency candidates. This will enable more temporary residents already living in Canada to transition to permanent status, aligning immigration selection with those who have already integrated into Canadian communities and the labor market.