Canada admitted 393,500 permanent residents last year

A Canada Border Services Agency patch is seen on the uniform of a CBSA officer at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, October 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada admitted approximately 393,500 permanent residents in 2025.

That’s according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which said the number is in line with its admissions targets.

It’s actually slightly lower than projections announced in the fall of 2024. At the time, Ottawa released its permanent resident targets for 2025-27 as part of its Levels Plan – the government’s roadmap to pausing short-term population growth.

Thursday’s numbers are about 2,000 people shy of the 395,000-person target set for 2025.

Canada plans to welcome 380,000 permanent residents in 2026, and the same number again in 2027. Beyond that date, the government vowed to keep permanent resident admissions below one per cent of the population.

Of the permanent resident visas approved over the next two years, Canada said 33,000 of them would go to temporary workers already in the country.

“This initiative will target workers who have established strong roots in their communities, are paying taxes and are helping to build the strong economy Canada needs,” wrote Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Canada’s record population drop

Reductions to Canada’s temporary resident admissions led to the largest population drop on record, according to preliminary estimates released in December.

The temporary-resident population dropped by 176,479 – the largest reduction since comparable records began, wrote Statistics Canada at the time. From July to October, a record-high 339,505 temporary permits expired. Just 163,026 were issued.