Canada Holds Student Arrivals Target at 150,000 Through 2029

Canada has extended its cap on new international student arrivals by another year. On 5 November 2026, the government released its Immigration Levels Plan 2027–2029 and confirmed that it will keep the target at 150,000 new international students a year in 2027, 2028 and now also in 2029. The earlier plan had already set this figure for 2027 and 2028, so the targets for those years do not change.

The numbers in the new plan

The plan sets one overall target for new temporary residents: 370,000 arrivals a year for each of the next three years. It is made up of two parts:

• up to 150,000 international students;
• 220,000 workers, of whom 170,000 are expected through the International Mobility Program and 50,000 through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

For comparison, the target for 2026 was 385,000 temporary residents: 155,000 students and 230,000 workers. The plan also sets an annual target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions. These figures count specific categories of new arrivals. They do not include visitors, asylum claimants, permit extensions, or study and work permit applications made from inside Canada.

Why this matters

Canada’s numbers have fallen sharply from their peak. The 370,000 temporary resident target is around 602,000 below the record of 971,815 new arrivals in 2023, and the permanent resident target is about 104,000 below the 2024 peak of 483,655 admissions. The government says the decline is already visible. According to the federal budget, from January to August 2026 new international student arrivals were 71% lower than in the same period of 2024, new worker arrivals were down 57% and new asylum claims were down 68%. Actual arrivals have also been below targets. According to IRCC, in 2025 Canada received 115,470 new student arrivals, 62% fewer than the 305,900 target in the plan for that year. The new 150,000 target is therefore closer to current reality than the earlier numbers were.

What it means for different groups

Students. The confirmed target gives a planning signal for the next three years, and universities welcomed the longer-term certainty. A national target is not a guarantee, though: each applicant must still meet the requirements in force when applying, and a target does not mean a fixed number of permits for a particular person or school. Workers. The worker allocation stays at 220,000 a year, which is lower than in 2026. Most of it is reserved for the International Mobility Program, with a much smaller number for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Employers and institutions. The plan gives a general indication of future volumes, not an allocation for a particular school, province or company. Each person’s work authorisation still has to be checked individually.

The bigger picture

Canada’s direction is clear: fewer new temporary arrivals and more emphasis on people who already live and work in the country. For anyone planning migration, it is a reminder that national targets change from year to year, and that the plan should be built on current official rules, not on headlines or old information. If you are comparing destinations or looking for legal work in Europe, MN Ideal Company helps candidates and employers choose official, documented routes. Contact us via mnidealcompany.com. This article is for information only. Figures are based on media reports of the Immigration Levels Plan 2027–2029; check IRCC for the official text. Sources: The PIE News, Daily Hive, IRCC: International Students (CIMM, 22 April 2026)