Public opinion on Canada's immigration policy changes reveals a blend of hope and concern. While some individuals appreciate the introduction of new pathways to permanent residency, a majority express frustration over high CRS scores, job availability, and potential impacts on the economy. Numerous comments highlight a significant worry about how these changes may affect the labor market and the integration of immigrants, leading to polarized sentiments about the adequacy and practicality of the policies.

Canadian Government

Local Labor Market

I worked in an outpatient clinic specialising in psychiatric disorders for foreign nationals - and that meant mainly refugees here - so I understand very well what you mean.

The fact is that you realise you can only really view people as individuals. Whether they were asylum seekers who were rejected or not, or expats, there were absolute twats and absolute gems among them, regardless of their legal status. I met people who I considered to be the most entitled people I've met, but who otherwise had a legitimate reason to be in Germany - for instance Ukrainians (who are otherwise considered to be doing rather well ofc), and people from otherwise "problematic" demographics who I thought were absolutely exemplary and Germany would only benefit from - but who definitely tried to game the system (successfully, because Germany sucks at managing anything in this area). Should I blame them? On the one hand, no, because they are only trying to get lucky. On the other hand, would I want this policy to continue, and the state to finance people who are otherwise in no need of it (while also not even doing the same monetary favors for its citizens)? Despite these positive anecdotes - no, I wouldn't want that either.  

Of course, one might argue that people should only come here legally and things will be fine and ofc I mostly agree with that, but Canada is the perfect example of people coming here legally but finding loopholes for unintended purposes and still causing all these issues that come with mass migration, and that's also far from ideal. Also, to be honest, yes, there are quite a few people here on various working visas who contribute a lot monetarily and then again so many of them are perfectly normal and nice people. But then you meet an Indian guy at a meetup who doesn't believe in learning the local language, and tells you in broken English that Germany should offer all its services in English because it should be grateful to Indians coming here because they actually wanted to be somewhere else anyway, and you know that your rents are rising because of it and your whole city is changing, and then you don't want that either.

How can you find a general solution? How could you possibly filter out the good ones from the bad ones? Every restriction automatically blocks people's path, and every relaxation opens the door to abuse, and basically the situation we're in already.

WitnessChance1996

I hear you. I work with undocumented people, and I also don't think they should be here. I don't think ICE should be tearing people out of court rooms or stopping people just for being Hispanic. I don't think the agricultural industry or the hospitality industry should just be able to expect to hire under-paid illegal immigrants to pad their bottom line. Yes it is complex, and at the end of the day, if someone is actually upset about immigration, they should be upset at every business that has hired illegals, they should be mad at politicians that have turned the other way for decades, they should be mad at big business that lobbies against actual changes to the immigration system, and you should be mad at the policy wonks who sidestep the economic issues that importing low-wage workers into a country creates. I do not blame poor people from Honduras or whatever from wanting to better their life and leave a crime-ridden hellhole. I blame the United States for destabilizing its neighbor countries, for pushing for trade deals that benefit business owners over workers, for making its economy a honey pot for people coming from worse situations.

Ok-Chocolate804

Canada is being walked all over and we're going to be paying the price for decades. Family unification will bring older adults that have never paid any taxes in Canada to further degrade and clog up our Healthcare system.

gaypowerpuffgirl

I worked with some undocumented guys in my high school job. They were all honest, hard working dudes that just wanted a better life. I don’t blame any of them. I blame the people who just want the US to be full of cheap, underpaid laborers so they can enjoy rampant consumption. I blame the people who are just trying to make the bottom line go up. I blame the US for meddling in other countries’ affairs.

Hardine081

It's good to understand what needs to be done but to not relish the act of doing it.

These people have to go back if we want to maintain our countries, but it can't be done with hatred and crass tweets. It has to be done with compassion and love.

Quiet_Childhood4066

Canada had the perfect approach to immigration for decades until some dorks in Ottawa realized that increasing the inflow of cheap labour could buttress GDP growth as the country's reliance on resource output declined, without acknowledging that all the key supportive mechanisms like health, housing, infrastructure, in general were controlled by provinces that couldn't deal with the situation. Complicated by the fact that Canada DIDN'T recruit or retrain people whom it actually needs in a competent way, i.e. health care workers. If you wanna understand how insane Canada is, health professionals from English speaking countries like Australia, South Africa, or even the UK have to take a "Canadian standard" language exam to get considered and some actually get rejected for not "writing properly" in Canuck English. Serious.

Phenolhouse

If we wanna go full Peter Singer utilitarianism it’d be better for the government to seize my assets and spend it all on sending mosquito netting to the Congo. All these people are nice but frankly I don’t think the government should be sacrificing my future for them so I don’t really put that much thought into being against it

[deleted]

I feel the same. The racist rhetoric really bothers me because clearly a lot of these people are working hard, and are also in a prime position to be exploited by cheap and sleazy business owners and landlords. Lots make minimum wage and live in tenement flats. A lot of people are directing their anger at the exploited people, when they really should blame the fed for our current disastrous immigration policy and stagnant economy, and at capitalists who abuse systems like the TFW and LMIA programs.

FeverDreamingg

Enter the cope of "deport them all (except for the ones I've met)". It's disheartening to look the individuals that make up the demographic horror of mass immigration in the eye and realize that they, like you, just want a better life in Canada. We can't feel bad about it; they, also like you, were sold a false promise of a future in Canada, but unlike them, you are just trying to make a home out of your homeland. To the people who wrought this upon us we are all just numbers on a balance sheet, Canadian or not.

Obsequious_Moron3143

really? cause everyone I know wants them all gone yesterday

angyhotmum

But who else will harvest our vegetables and process our seafood for less than minimum wage???

2_brainz

I cannot believe there is any way there are any significant deportations, or even limitations to immigration, in Canada 

Particular_Bison7173

Liberals will win every election just based on demographics

Moro2x

winterattitude

TheDillyProphet

Yeah I hear you. I went to school with a lot of people on temporary visas, all of them great people. But I went to the liquor store the other day and the 21yo middle eastern kid working the counter told me in broken English that I should moisturize because I have dry skin and it made me feel better about voting for Trump. 

KaterinaMosenberg

At the very least they’ll make the charges with bureaucratic coldness, instead of hiring a bunch of people to go after them with masks and making a huge show of it

butt-slave

the irony of complaining about immigrants who ‘don’t ingratiate themselves’ while the entire country is a settler-colonial state

Nice_Departure3051

Where's the "freeze" on permanent resident intake? I couldn't find details in the article.

tjc103

Can we PLEASE cap the percentage per each country ASAP?! I want our MULTICULTURAL country to remain multicultural!

ElectroBot

&gt;But Carney’s government opted to cut even further, reducing the number of temporary resident visas to 385,000 next year and 370,000 the following two years. That means Canada will be letting in more than 40 per cent fewer temporary residents between this year and next


Definitely needed. I was surprised by just how deep they cut international students. 


Now, freezing new PR at 380K? I still think that's far too high. With the enormous surplus we brought in under Trudeau, I think 250K or even 200K a year would be necessary for the next few years

toilet_for_shrek

I think one country needs to be cut off completely. We've taken in hundreds of thousands, if not millions at this point. We've done enough virtue signalling to last a generation.

It's time to get some variety...and preferably skilled workers, you know, like doctors and nurses and skilled trades.

Agile-Assist-4662

Issue is there needs to be fasttracking of fake refugee cases and quick deportations


Nothing crazy all u need to do is create an image the trudeau era progresisve immigration free for all is over

_Army9308

TattooedBrogrammer

Trudeau raised immigration to unbelievable levels. Now it gets cut but remains at stupidly high levels. Not a win in my opinion. 1% of population every year is still crazy.

Correct-Astronaut-57

There definitely needs to be more control on immigration levels.

missingthecoast

Numbers are still way too high. All of my friends and me including who graduated university in STEM can’t find a job. I’m sure this will help us so much!

I_Dont_Rage_Quit

“While Prime Minister Mark Carney plans on plateauing the number of permanent residents coming into Canada annually at 380,000 until 2028, his government is further slashing temporary resident admissions.”

Way too high. It’s almost 4x per capita higher than the amount of US Green Cards given out.

“The government originally planned to cap foreign student visas at 305,000 over the next two years. But Carney’s government will slash that in half by next year and settle the number at 150,000 annually until 2028.”

At least they’ve been very solid here of late.

Difficult-Yam-1347

But it's still not tied to our ability to produce infrastructure. This is still way too high unless we're Also building a suitable number of homes and hospitals etc to accommodate this many people. And right now we're not. And unless we do it puts additional pressure on our medical system and housing costs, not to mention food and everything else

This doesn't solve a problem at all it just slightly slows it down

-Foxer

Hopefully most of the new jobs being created by the budget will be filled with long suffering Canadians who are being deliberately denied employment by some businesses in favor of foreign workers through LMIA, etc

Illustrious_Dog_1743

Immigration is still nearly 100k more PR and 200k TR per year from Harpers years.

What cuts? Were still doing mass migration which would have gotten governments thrown out of power if it was pre Harper.

Putting PR and TR together is still DOUBLE the birthrate of Canadians. Canada has 300-350k births per year. They want to bring in EQUAL TO OUR BIRTHS in just Temporary residents, not to mention to talk about PR and TRV's.

Our unemployment is spiking RIGHT NOW, what the hell is this?

Wind_Best_1440

Anything is something but its still to high, why cant we bring the numbers back down to before Trudeau went nuts and allowed everyone and anyone into the country?

Adventurous-Hand3942

I’m sure landlords will be overjoyed about this! /s

ZestyBeanDude

"The most significant cut in Carney’s immigration levels is to temporary foreign student admissions"

Can someone please explain this sentence to me?

maximus_danus

I don’t really understand how it all works. Hopefully this means the local teenagers can  find part time jobs again.

Bonfire_Party

We also need a cap on each country as far as immigration goes period. Keep our country diverse. Whoever brings this to the table gets my next vote

MonthObvious5035

Immigration should serve the country’s needs, not the other way around. We’ve been running this like an open-door policy for years while citizens can’t afford rent. A pause isn’t “anti-immigrant,” it’s just common sense.

manespace123

Incoming CBC article about how poor Landlords are unable to pay off their 3rd mortgage, and why mass immigration is actually a good thing.

Dastrados

The government is cutting the number of international students while increasing the number of TFWs to make the overall figures look slightly better. Also, the PR target has increased compared to the PR target for 2026 that they proposed last year. Don’t be fooled, they’ve raised the very categories that impact the job market most.

duduludo

&gt;The government originally planned to cap foreign student visas at 305,000 over the next two years. But Carney’s government will slash that in half by next year and settle the number at 150,000 annually until 2028.

&gt;

&gt;Overall, Liberals originally projected granting temporary residency to 673,650 people in 2025 and then dropping that number to 516,600 next year.

This is a drastic cut especially considering that the number they cut from (305k) I believe is already a cut itself.

The diploma mills in Canada will struggle.

Immediate-Link490

needs to be set to Zero for around a decade so healthcare, housing, criminal justice system and infrastructure/jobs can catch up.

R4ID

Emotional-Buy1932

the biggest laugh here is that anyone is going to leave the country when they're supposed to.

gwillin_

StatesofCanada

East Indian population is taking over Canada

Zealousideal_Gap432

Good at some point, Canada was known to be one of the toughest countries to immigrate to similar to Switzerland. Now it’s become a doormat country.

Terrible-Session5028

Healthy_Yard_3862

we're still frogs in boiling water. anything higher than 0 for the next 5+ years is unacceptable.

They are still bringing in 1 million this year.

Alternative_Order612

The cut is so small. It's almost seasonable variance.

Big-Bat7302

Still way way too high considering layoffs on the horizon due to  AI.

vwae

Jealous_Worker_931

400K annually… and we’re celebrating this? So we can pride ourselves on supporting Canadian business, but we allow foreigners to take Canadian jobs? God, it’s so unbelievable how hypocritical liberals are. As long as they get their government pension and keep their federal job, they don’t give a crap. Disgusting

Nic12312

Sea-Safety-6130

380,000 new temporary workers when we already have an estimated 1 million overstaying their visa and a youth unemployment crisis is un-fucking-acceptable.

Hey Carney, your buddy Trudeau brought in 10 years worth of foreign workers in 3 years. That means you don't get any. To have the audacity to suggest bringing the population of HALIFAX of temporary workers every year is fucking insane.

And don't even get me started on the 350K permeant residents too. Still way too high. Still insane numbers.

CastAside1812

We need to reverse the trend not just slow it down 

Key-Juice5791

If you guys don't think you have an immigration problem I invite you to visit Vancouver. Talk about a city being taken over.

JamesLahey08

This is a start but more needs to be done though. Libs and cons have fucked this country for decades

slumlordscanstarve

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxs

1% population increase per year to guarantee the 1% GDP increase per year…

weavjo

They need to remove those here illegally, fake students and fake asylum claims - then clamp down on visa fraud and tighten the security and documentation screening allowing the system to catch up along with infrastructure 

Late they can set manageable sustainable diverse immigration levels not the crap show of the last 15 yrs

assman69x

Well, this tells me they expect an election to be forced. Only time politicians care about their constituents is just before an election. We need to go back to where an elected official was from an area and well known as well as respectable, not some foreign educated WEF puppet.

covid-was-a-hoax

shockinglyunoriginal

700k down from over a million.   Dont get excited it doesnt really help since we can only build 3 houses a year

LukePieStalker42

"slashing" isn't an accurate word when you consider the levels are still way above what is sustainable.

Busy_Zone_8058

Old_General_6741

Hold tight, folks. It looks like they’ve clearly outlined the reasons for returning certain applications (with refunds), which means they’re legally preparing to do so. They’ll likely start siphoning the inventory soon.

Anyone without a valid work permit or those unemployed in other streams are cooked.

throwaway36276429

They clearly mentioned that these new regulations apply only to new applications not the one which are already in inventory in transitional provision clause

Dazzling_Buffalo_577

Does it mean they are even thinking of returning those applications that they had offered ITAs previously?

Simple_Sound_92

This is what ChatGPT tells me:

---

📘 Legal basis

Ontario Regulation 421/17, Section 39 (“Transition”) — states:

&gt; An application submitted before the day this Regulation or an amendment to it comes into force shall be processed and decided as if the amendment had not been made.



That’s the official legal wording — straight from the Ontario laws site.


---

🧩 What OINP actually does

OINP officers follow that clause — it’s standard administrative law.
Once an application is “locked in” (i.e., you submitted and paid the fee), it’s processed under the version of the rules in force on that date.

They can’t legally change the rules mid-way and apply them to you retroactively.

Weekly-Scholar-6906

so basically nothing is guaranteed (we already knew that, but this makes everything so much for uncertain). Thanks for the info!

solateadoe

What would be the current labour market priorities ☹️
What about the existing priorities ☹️

Illustrious_Menu_906

Section 6 of O. Reg. 421/17 states that:

Applications made before this regulation came into force shall continue to be processed and decided as though the regulation had not come into force.

That means:
	•	OINP must finish processing your file under the rules that were in place when you applied or were invited.
	•	Your ITA remains valid — it cannot be cancelled simply because a newer regulation or update exists.
	•	The new rules apply only to new applicants or new invitations issued after the changes took effect.

Dear_Ad_247

This was expected from them. For sure they were holding a lot of inventory for a reason

Dangerous_Spite_4117

This is weird, they creat these changes just for the backlogs, and people in dip stages said those change is not aiming for them. 

knightpanan

If someone is waiting for their pgwp and they express their interest for oinp masters graduate stream, would it show dual intent and application refusal ?

Canadind

Anyone enlighten me what are the implications for the changes?

Bank_db

Pechorin12

People tend to get hyperbolic about immigration but it’s essentially just about balance. We should have immigration but the numbers in the last several years have been too high and we need a correction. Personally I’d also like to see caps that limit how many come from a single country.  Nothing personal against India but they make up a ridiculously higher percentage than any other country.

TheOtherUprising

We don't need 10 Tim Hortons within a 5 km circle. We don't need tonnes of empty restaurants making money as LMIA fronts. We don't need most of our young sitting jobless. We need a balance. There is no way to justify millions of fake diploma mill students and TFW.

I'm currently taking some university classes. Immigrant students openly talk about how they came to stay. Only reason they came. Some think they can marry to stay. Some think once they graduate, they will get a job that let's them stay, and a bunch say that they have friends/family businesses that they will work at under the table to stay.

Ok-Artichoke6793

The tfw program was a hot debate in 2014

It should only be used in areas that actually need it like rural areas with few ppl wanting specific jobs. Not Tim Hortons in downtown Toronto ...

Geistlingster

I'm not willing to sacrifice the country to solve Tim Horton's cheap labour shortage.

Pleasant-March-7009

they won’t leave. 

but things would improve greatly. job market would be better, housing would get better

everything else would trickle down after that. i truly believe that if we didn’t have mass high immigration, all the dog shit policies introduced these last few years wouldn’t be as apparent.

dherms14

We should not have rapidly increased numbers for the last 10 years, it has caused damage.  No you cant remove millions in one day but that is not a reason to not implement better policy.

No_Education_2014

This is the most hilarious thing I have read today, they are not gonna leave and uphold their end of the legal contract when they came here as "international students" OP you are gullible if you really think all of them are leaving.

babuloseo

No. Your premise is wrong. Let me explain:

&gt;*What happens if 2–3 million immigrants leave Canada? A reality check on wages, jobs, and the economy.*

Legal immigrants don't need to leave Canada. However, they are free (as anyone should be), to leave Canada in search of happiness and prosperity.

Illegals and undocumented should self-deport, or be deported as per the Immigration Law of Canada.

We should always follow and obey the law.

&gt;*A lot of people seem to believe that if a significant number of immigrants, international students, and temporary workers left Canada,*

Again, everyone should follow and obey Canada's Immigration Law, and if they do not, they've shown lack of respect of the law (which shows propensity to break any of our laws), lack of respect of the host country (Canada), bad moral character, and should be deported. We want our legal residents and citizens to obey and follow the law. Western societies are based on law.

&gt;*our problems would magically start to go away.*

Gaslighting is a very common tool of charlatans.

&gt;*Let’s say 2 to 3 million people leave, mostly international students and temporary workers.*

No. People need to leave before their status expires so that they are not here illegally. It doesn't matter who you are and what you do. You've been admitted here temporarily and since the moment you were admitted, you know when your visa expires and when you should leave. Breaking the law shows lack of respect for the country and its laws, it shows bad moral character.

It doesn't matter if you're a foreign student, or temporary worker or a post-doc or a newly-minted CFO. You cannot stay in the country illegally. It's as simple as that.

The rest of your post is based on the gas-lighting premise debunked above, so it's no use to address it. However it is worth mentioning this:

You cannot claim that the Canadian economy depends on illegals being present here and being taken advantage of by Canadian businesses, by being worked to the bone, being paid sub-livable wage, and living in squalor. This lack empathy.

You cannot argue that, in this case, let's break the existing law, and just give them status, in order to circumvent our own laws, so that illegals become legal and thus represented, so that they all of a sudden start making legal livable wage and so on. It is exactly this course of action which BRINGS DOWN economies.

Admitting foreign workers, temporary workers, immigrants, is based on continuous market and economy research in the host country, to carefully keep a balanced economy, and sustainable market. If one of these conditions (market and economy researched base immigration) is broken, then the country's economy and society starts to break down.

Addressing the Canadian economy has NOTHING TO do with illegals being part of the Canadian workforce, and all to do with, as in ANY country in this world, developing the natural resources of the land the country has set its borders on or should no such be available, then providing competitive service-based industry or competitive technology-based economy. But that's a different thread.

Enjoy your weekend! (And obey all laws!)

OP would have posted "Irish need not apply" in his store window.

TomMakesPodcasts

Rent becomes more affordable. That and housing is all I care about. I don't give a damn about businesses or schools that rely on cheap foreign labour to get by and to avoid paying us properly. If they go under - so be it. They can't afford the cost of business. With the damage the local college has done to affordability here at this point I'd love to see it go under.

PineBNorth85

Nice try international illegal student. We still want you out.

ShawnStrickland

Individual_Metal8910

I hear every day how Canadians (youth, educated and all in between) have been trying for years, sometimes, to find a job. I don't believe for 1 second that we need immigration, and in the millions, to fill all the job openings. Especially with AI already doing that. Our teenagers cant even get a job at Mcds anymore. Everywhere you go there are immigrants working, no Canadians. The Canadians are the ones living on the street because they can't find a job or affordable, available housing. The immigrants get so many handouts from the government while middle and lower class Canadians suffer. 
The way I see it is that migrates have basicly taken over Canada. And to make matters worse they dont try to assimilate or respect us at all. We Canadians are supposed to adapt to them. Like wtf? They protest for things that we dont even get. They have caused violent crimes, scams, and anger to increase. They spread disease because they are not vaccinated while our kids can not even attend school without being fully vaccinated. Because their hygiene is usually not up to western standard we now have infestations of rats, our housing units are being destroyed, and we now deal we human feces on our beaches. 
They despise our way of life and we are supposed to be ok with all of this. Being Canadian does not feel like it used to. Our young people have no chance to thrive anymore. Its all just sad. Mass immigration has destroyed our way of life. If millions of immigrants left our country we would have available affordable housing, be employed and spending more to improve our economy.

No-Tumbleweed5612

Canada is reducing the number of temporary residents while introducing a fast-track permanent residency pathway for certain skilled workers, aiming to address labor shortages.

Canada Immigration Policy Changes

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want