Tracking yearly shifts in residency status among Canada’s work and study permit holders

Amid concerns about housing shortages, pressure on public services and labour market imbalances, the Canadian government has announced a policy shift to reduce the share of temporary residents—including temporary foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers—in the national population. The government aims to lower the proportion of temporary residents in the national population to 5% by the end of 2026 to ease the strain on infrastructure and support more sustainable population growth (IRCC, 2024a). To achieve these goals, the government’s multi-year plan includes tighter caps on study permits, stricter eligibility for post-graduation work permits and sector-specific limits on temporary foreign worker approvals (IRCC, 2024a). The government is also prioritizing permanent residency pathways for skilled temporary residents already in Canada, aiming to select more than 40% of permanent residents annually from among temporary residents (IRCC, 2024b). These measures led to the combination of three approaches to reduce the stock of non-permanent residents (NPRs): limiting new inflows of NPRs, increasing transitions to permanent residency and restricting permit extension.