New Delhi, March,15,2026: Canada immigration dropped sharply in 2025, with the country admitting far fewer permanent residents compared with the previous year. Government data shows that the decline was largely driven by a reduction in arrivals from India.
According to figures analysed by the Montreal based Association for Canadian Studies, Canada admitted 393530 permanent immigrants in 2025. This represents a fall of about 19 percent compared with 483655 new permanent residents recorded in 2024.
The drop marks the lowest immigration intake since 2020, when global travel restrictions during the Covid pandemic disrupted migration flows worldwide.
A major factor behind the decline was a decrease in the number of immigrants arriving from India. The number of Indian nationals granted permanent residency fell from 127375 in 2024 to 98770 in 2025.
Indian immigration to Canada had risen significantly in recent years. The number of Indian permanent residents increased from 42875 in 2020 to a peak of 139790 in 2023 before beginning to decline.
The fall was also visible in other immigration categories. Study permits issued by Canada dropped by nearly 25 percent, a decrease of about 131010 permits.
Indian students accounted for a large portion of this decline. The number of study permits issued to Indian nationals fell from 188175 in 2024 to 94605 in 2025.
Temporary foreign worker admissions also declined during the year. Canada admitted 168245 temporary workers in 2025, down from 190945 the previous year, representing a drop of about 12 percent.
Other immigration streams also recorded decreases. Refugee admissions declined by 23 percent, economic immigration fell by 19 percent, and family sponsored immigration dropped by around 10 percent.
The Association for Canadian Studies said the 2025 figures break a decade long trend of rising immigration numbers. Over the past several years Canada had expanded immigration intake to support economic growth and population expansion.
Canada’s population growth had surged to 3.3 percent by July 2023, the highest annual increase recorded since 1957. However, by the end of 2025 population growth slowed significantly to about 0.1 percent as immigration policies were adjusted.
According to a study by the Fraser Institute cited by National Post, Canada’s immigration intake increased by an average of 4 percent annually between 2000 and 2015. Between 2016 and 2024 the annual increase averaged around 15 percent following policy changes under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau stepped down in March 2025 and was succeeded by Prime Minister Mark Carney, as the country reviewed its immigration policies amid growing public debate on migration levels.
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