Canada to cut down number of temporary residents

TORONTO: The Canadian government announced changes to both work permit eligibility and the number of international study permits the country will grant.

The news comes off the back of a major by-election loss for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

In the first seven months of 2024, Canada issued 175,920 study permits for foreign students, but will reduce that to 437,000 in 2025. In 2023, Canada approved 509,390. This comes alongside tightened eligibility for spouses of students and temporary foreign workers.

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Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated “The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to,” as the government attempts to strengthen visa integrity by reviewing visa-decision making so Canadian officers can “detect fraud and reduce the number of non-genuine visitors.”

Previously, the government had already pledged to reduce the number of temporary residents to 5 per cent from the 6.8 per cent in April.

The government reneged on their 2022 expansions to the temporary foreign worker program earlier this month, reducing in some sectors the maximum share of any employer’s workforce that can consist of low-wage, temporary foreign workers. Furthermore, in some sectors, low-wage temporary foreign workers in communities with high unemployment rates.

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Canada’s fervour in reducing the country’s number of temporary residents is partly in response to criticism from the international community, with one United Nations report dubbing the country’s foreign worker program “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”