Growth in temporary immigration has persisted across most major categories.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press

Parisa Mahboubi is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.

The federal government announced last year that it would reduce the portion of the country’s temporary residents to 5 per cent of Canada’s total population by the end of 2026. Framing it as a necessary correction to years of unsustainable growth in the number of such immigrants, Ottawa introduced a series of reforms aimed at slowing this rise, namely for international students and temporary foreign workers.

And yet, Canada’s temporary resident population has continued to climb, more than doubling since 2021. After peaking at 7.35 per cent of the total population in late 2024, the share declined only modestly to 7.12 per cent by April, 2025 – still well above the 5-per-cent goal.

The total temporary resident population grew to nearly three million by mid-2025, even after the target was announced, from 2.73 million in early 2024. At this rate of decline, the 5-per-cent mark likely won’t be reached until around 2029 or later.

However, that goal was never realistic on the proposed timeline. Achieving it would require not just tighter........

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