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(Bloomberg) — The Canadian government is set to launch special initiatives to attract top international researchers and H-1B visa holders, while slashing the number of foreign students it plans to bring into the country each year.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget unveiled a plan to attract international talent, earmarking C$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) to recruit more than 1,000 highly skilled researchers.
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“The expertise of these researchers will help advance our global competitiveness and contribute to the economy of the future,” the budget document said.
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The government also said it would launch an accelerated pathway for H-1B visa holders in the coming months. This follows President Donald Trump increasing fees for H-1B visas to $100,000.
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However, Ottawa is maintaining tight controls over the number of immigrants it lets into the country after a dramatic surge in population growth in recent years.
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The new immigration levels plan maintains the permanent resident admission target at 380,000 per year for 2026 to 2028. That’s down from 395,000 this year but higher than the 365,000 target former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government set for 2027.
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Meanwhile, it’s slashing its temporary resident targets to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 for the following two years. This reflects more than a 40% reduction from 2025.
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Driving that decrease is a stark fall in the number of study permits the government plans to issue. Those targets have been reduced to 155,000 in 2026 and 150,000 in both 2027 and 2028.
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The target for 2025 was 437,000 study permits, but data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows less than 250,000 were issued by the end of August.
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Universities Canada said in a statement that it “recognizes the government’s efforts to build a sustainable immigration system that welcomes those seeking to study at Canada’s world-class universities, but the plan must match this government’s talent and economic agenda.”
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