Government Reports

2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration

The 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration marks a significant shift in Canadian policy, moving away from historic population growth toward system stabilization to better align newcomer arrivals with domestic housing, healthcare, and infrastructure capacity. Under the newly introduced 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, permanent resident targets have been scaled back and capped at 380,000 annually, a notable decrease from previous projections. Within this stabilized pool, the federal government is heavily reprioritizing economic immigration, mandating that the economic class rise to comprise 64% of all permanent resident admissions by 2027 to directly fuel labor market competitiveness and support key industries.

Simultaneously, the report introduces drastic measures to curb the temporary resident population, aiming to reduce non-permanent residents to under 5% of Canada’s total population by late 2027. Overall temporary arrivals—including international students and temporary foreign workers—will be slashed from over 673,000 down to 385,000 annually. To mitigate these cuts and retain established talent, the government is launching a targeted initiative to transition up to 33,000 skilled temporary workers already living within Canada to permanent status, while also enforcing an aggressive 12% admission target for French-speaking immigrants outside of Quebec by 2029.

2024 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration

The Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration provides the opportunity to inform Parliament and Canadians of key highlights and related information on immigration to Canada. This Report on immigration and its tabling in Parliament is a requirement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA),i and serves to offer key details on the successes and challenges that have occurred in welcoming immigrants1 to Canada in the past year.

This Report sets out information and statistical details regarding permanent resident admissions, temporary resident volumes, and the immigration levels plan for the upcoming year. In addition, this Report contextualizes the efforts undertaken with provinces and territories in our shared responsibility for immigration, highlights efforts made on Francophone immigration and ends with an analysis of gender and diversity considerations in Canada’s approach to immigration.

The Employer’s Roadmap to Hiring and Retaining Internationally Trained Workers

The labour market within Francophone minority communities: Comparative experiences of the international student population and the Canadian-born student population – July 2025

Like elsewhere in Canada (Usher, 2021), an increasing proportion of the student population in Francophone minority postsecondary institutions are international students. Francophone minority communities are interested in this international student population (ISP), particularly because it appears that it can actively contribute to their demographic, economic, social, and cultural vitality. However, the literature notes that this population is disadvantaged when it comes to their economic integration, which could reduce their retention within Francophone communities.

The main objective of this study is therefore to describe, analyze, and compare the school-to- work transition conditions of members of the ISP and the Canadian-born student population (CBSP) who have studied in French between 2015 and 2021 at seven specific Francophone minority postsecondary institutions. More specifically, it aims to identify the success factors for the school-to-work transition of international students during and after their studies, as well as the obstacles that hinder this transition and how the international student population can have more positive experiences in terms of employment integration.

The methodology used for this study includes a literature review, an online survey and interviews with members of the student population, stakeholders, and employers. The student populations targeted by the survey and interviews studied in French and obtained a degree between 2015 and 2022. The postsecondary institutions included in the study are as follows:

  • Université Sainte-Anne
  • Université de Moncton
  • Collège communautaire du Nouveau- Brunswick
  • University of Ottawa
  • Collège La Cité
  • Université de Saint-Boniface
  • Campus Saint-Jean (University of Alberta).

Main findings:

  1. In general, the results indicate that the obstacles encountered by the ISP are more numerous, although they decrease over the years. The survey and interviews also show that members of the ISP face obstacles that are often different from those faced by the CBSP.
  2. In terms of job searching, during studies and the year following graduation, ISP members spend
    longer actively looking for employment compared with CBSP members. Several factors reduce the effectiveness of job searching for the ISP: a lesser understanding of cultural codes, less openness from employers to diversity, a lack of Canadian experience, limited ability to develop a professional network, less schedule flexibility (temporary status), a lack of mobility or poor English proficiency.
  3. Despite an increase in annual income after graduation, members of the ISP earn a lower annual income proportionally than CBSP members, regardless of the period considered.
  4. Regarding treatment on the job, nearly one fifth of the surveyed ISP members believed that they were treated worse than their colleagues by their employer in the positions they held during and after their studies. In interviews and during the survey, the most consistent factor contributing to this differential treatment is belonging to a visible minority.

Recommendation:

  1. Support postsecondary institutions in adopting a holistic and personalized approach that promotes the economic integration of members of the Francophone ISP community during and after their studies.
  2. Allow the Francophone ISP to access all IRCC-funded settlement services, including language training and employment services.
  3. Establish a program that has the objective of ensuring the visibility and presence of the Francophone community within postsecondary institutions in a Francophone minority setting, particularly with the ISP.
  4. Create a program with the goals of providing workplace language training to the Francophone ISP and raising employers’ awareness of the specific characteristics and added value of this workforce.
  5. Relax the rules regarding study permits and work permits, both during and after studies, in order to allow for a greater range of pathways.

Evaluation of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot

Published in October 2020, IRCC’s evaluation of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) found the program largely successful in meeting labour market needs, particularly in skilled trades and intermediate occupations. Most surveyed principal applicants were working, and AIP employment earnings were comparable to the regional average.

The Pilot achieved strong newcomer retention, with a majority of AIP newcomers continuing to reside in Atlantic Canada after their first year, and early evidence indicated a higher retention rate than other economic immigration programs in the region. Settlement plans were viewed as helpful, though many applicants were unaware they could access free settlement services. The evaluation identified several areas for strengthening the program as it transitioned to a permanent program, including clarifying accountability roles, improving communication of operational changes, increasing awareness of settlement services, and enhancing data collection to support ongoing performance measurement

Read the full report here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/reports-statistics/evaluations/eval-atlantic-immigration-pilot.html

Report on the Settlement Outcomes Survey

Prepared for Newfoundland and Labrador’s Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism, this report evaluates settlement outcomes for Provincial Nominee Program participants nominated in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

Overall, survey respondents reported a positive settlement experience. Most respondents are employed (91%), have strong official language skills, understand Canadian rights, feel safe in welcoming communities, and access to the health care and settlement services. However, challenges persist around foreign credential and work experience recognition—particularly for those with graduate degrees—with only 66% of respondents agreeing that employers recognize their qualifications. Access to adequate language training is also difficult for many. The report highlights the need for better credential recognition processes and improved services to support immigrant integration.

View the full report here: https://www.gov.nl.ca/immigration/files/Goss-Gilroy-Settlement-Survey-Report.pdf

Accessibility by WAH