Canada to launch new immigration plan to attract foreign talent, skills

Canada New Immigration Plan: Canada's upcoming budget will unveil a new immigration plan with a talent strategy as student and work permit arrivals fall sharply in 2025

Canada plans to introduce a new immigration plan with a talent attraction strategy in its upcoming budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a speech on Wednesday. The move, he said, will align immigration levels with Canada’s workforce needs and capacity.

 

“To match immigration levels with our needs and our capacity, the budget will include Canada’s new immigration plan to do better, for newcomers, for everyone,” said Carney. He added that the plan would also include a “talent strategy,” skills training and apprenticeships for scientists and innovators.

 

Mark Carney promises a “talent strategy” for scientists and innovators

 

The prime minister had previously said he wanted to attract employees from the technology sector who might otherwise have gone to the United States if not for President Donald Trump’s new visa charges.

 

Carney said his government is considering steps to draw professionals who once sought H-1B visas in the US before the recent policy shift under Trump.

 

“What is clear is that the opportunity to attract people who previously would’ve got so-called H-1B visas,” said Carney in London in September. “Many of those workers are in the tech sector and willing to move for work.” 

 

Trump’s $100,000 visa charge drives tech talent towards Canada

 

Trump signed an executive order in September imposing $100,000 fees on new H-1B visas. The US later exempted some workers from paying the charge, but the move has still caused confusion and frustration for companies that depend on the programme to hire global talent in computer programming, engineering and other fields.

 

Immigration curbs under Trudeau continue under Carney

 

Carney’s government has kept immigration limits introduced by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who curbed the flow of foreign students and temporary workers after Canada’s population growth rate surged to one of the fastest in the world. The new leader faces the challenge of rebuilding public support for immigration, which has fallen to its lowest level in decades.

 

Public support for immigration falls amid cost of living crisis

 

Concerns over the cost of living, including housing affordability and high rents, have become major issues for Canadians, especially among young people dealing with unemployment and stagnant wages.

 

However, industry leaders say the country cannot rely solely on domestic graduates to fill labour market gaps.

 

“Our reproduction in Canada is 1.3. We do not have enough domestic students to fill our workforce,” said Virginia Machiavello, CEO and president of Machiavello Consulting Limited, during an MSM Unify Live Expert Session on Canada student pathways. “And the challenge that’s coming up with commercialising and building out manufacturing and commercialising our resources, we’re going to need a skilled workforce. We do not have those numbers.” 

 

Student and work permit arrivals fall sharply in first half of 2025

 

The number of new foreign students arriving in Canada fell in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with 214,520 fewer arrivals. Total arrivals, including international students and foreign workers, dropped nearly 57 per cent during the same period.

 

This includes more than a 70 per cent decline in international students and a 50 per cent fall in foreign work permits.