Canada Sees Continued Decline In Temporary Resident Arrivals

Canada welcomed far fewer new international students and foreign workers in July 2025 compared to the same month last year. New numbers show a 37% drop in worker arrivals and a 55% decline in student arrivals compared to July 2024.

Only 18,500 new workers entered Canada in July 2025, down from 29,595 in July 2024. The number of international students fell more sharply, with only 7,685 new arrivals in July 2025. That’s less than half the 17,140 who arrived during the same month last year.

In total, 20,550 fewer temporary residents arrived in July 2025 than in July 2024.

Government Policies Affecting Arrivals

These declines reflect new federal policies aimed at reducing the number of temporary residents in Canada. The government is working to lower this population to less than 5% of the national total. Stricter rules and changes to immigration targets are already impacting permit approvals.

In the first half of 2025, new international student arrivals dropped by 70%, and new worker arrivals fell by 50% compared to the same period in 2024. These trends have continued through July.

Between January and July 2025, there were 235,070 fewer arrivals than during the same period last year.

Temporary Population Trends in July

In July 2025, Canada saw 26,185 new temporary residents with either work or study permits. This number was also lower than June 2025, which saw 28,245 new arrivals. That’s a 7.29% drop in just one month.

The number of study permit holders in Canada fell by 119,705 compared to July 2024. There were 499,365 international students in July 2025, compared to 619,070 in the same month the year before.

Between June and July 2025 alone, the student population dropped by 47,195.

Work Permit Holders Show Slight Increase

While student numbers fell, the number of foreign nationals with work permits rose slightly. In July 2025, there were 1,494,905 workers in Canada, up 5% from July 2024. However, this was still a small drop compared to June 2025, when there were 1,504,575 workers.

The rise in work permit holders may be due to former students staying in Canada after graduation through Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs). Since many international students finish their programs after several years, changes in student permits can affect work permits later.

Study and Work Permit Holders Decline

The number of individuals holding both study and work permits also dropped. There were 286,465 such individuals in July 2025. That’s down from 312,010 in June 2025 and 356,380 in July 2024.

Canada’s temporary resident population reached its peak in August 2024 at 2,446,523. Since then, it has been shrinking. In July 2025, the number of temporary residents dropped by 3% from the previous month.

Immigration Debate Continues

The issue of temporary residents remains politically sensitive. Some leaders have demanded major cuts to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). One party leader recently claimed that 105,000 permits were issued between January and June 2025, far above the government’s annual target of 82,000.

But that claim is incorrect. The 105,000 figure includes renewals and extensions for workers already in Canada. Only 33,700 were new arrivals, which is 41% of the government’s annual target.

The TFWP is also not the largest source of work permits. Most permits are issued through the International Mobility Program (IMP), which had a much higher target of 285,750 new arrivals in 2025.

That IMP target is expected to fall sharply in 2026 to 128,700, while the TFWP target will stay the same.

Temporary Residents Impact Population Growth

Since early 2024, the government’s immigration policies have slowed population growth. Between January and April 2025, the number of temporary residents in Canada dropped by 61,111. During the same time, Canada’s overall population increased by just 20,107 people—or almost no growth at all.