Canada's new immigration focus: Fewer students, more researchers and poach H-1B visa holders

The Canadian government is set to launch special initiatives to attract international researchers and H-1B visa holders , as the Trump administration continues to impose heavy crackdowns on immigrants in the United States. However, Ontario is taking these initiatives by slashing the number of foreign students it plans to bring into the country each year.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget unveiled a plan to attract international talent, earmarking $1.2 billion to recruit more than 1,000 skilled researchers, Bloomberg reported. “The expertise of these researchers will help advance our global competitiveness and contribute to the economy of the future,” the budget document said.

The Carney administration is also planning to launch an “accelerated pathway” for H-1B visa holders in the coming months. The move comes as US President Donald Trump increases fees for H-1B visas to $100,000.

Canada restricts the enrollment of international students

However, the Canadian government is maintaining tight controls over the number of immigrants it lets into the country since it has seen a surge in population growth in recent years. According to Carney’s budget, the new immigration plan has a target of bringing in 380,000 permanent residents per year from 2026 through 2028.

It is cutting the number of temporary residents allowed to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 for the following two years. This marks a 40 per cent reduction from this year. The decrease is driven by a sharp fall in the number of new 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.

That’s down from the targets set by the former government of Justin Trudeau , which projected 305,900 permits annually for the period from 2025 to 2027. In response to the budget, Universities Canada said in a statement that it “recognises 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.”

The Carney government is now aiming to reduce the share of non-permanent residents to less than 5 per cent of the population by the end of 2027, pushing out that goal by a year. The figure was 7.3 per cent on July 1.