The new restrictions on non-permanent residents, which include capping foreign students and matching work permits to labour market demands, are announced by Canada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Marc Miller, recently spoke with Reuters on a series of upcoming initiatives intended to significantly restrict the number of non-permanent residents in Canada, especially those with work or study permits.

Potential Changes to the PGWP

Miller stated that further enforcement and revisions to Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs) may be coming soon. “The days of unrestricted immigration schemes into this nation are rapidly drawing to an end. “This is a significant change,” Miller said.

To get input on potential PGWP modifications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sent surveys to important post-secondary education sector stakeholders in June. The department is thinking of coordinating the issuance of PGWPs with the demands of the labour market, giving priority to students pursuing jobs where there is a lack of workers, and restricting access for graduates of other programs.

Together, the IRCC and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) have used the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system and the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) to map educational programs to job titles. For instance, study programs in construction trades, carpentry, and woodworking/general are associated with pertinent NOCs for carpenters.

Part of a Wider Plan

The first-ever objective for non-permanent resident levels was revealed by the IRCC earlier this year, and it will be a part of this year’s immigration levels strategy. The objective is to stabilise the share of these immigrants in the Canadian population, which was close to 7% as of last April, at 5% over the following three years.

The IRCC has put in place a two-year quota on international students as part of this strategy, which means that only 292,000 new post-secondary students can enrol this year. In 2025, this cap will be re-examined, and the levels for overseas students may change.


Minister Miller has also stated that he intends to give priority to domestic applicants for federal and provincial permanent residence (PR) paths. By moving current temporary residents to permanent residents (PRs) instead of hiring new PRs from overseas, which can worsen housing and affordability problems related to immigration, this approach seeks to lower the number of temporary residents.

A Response to Public Scrutiny

These actions take place at a time when Canadians are questioning immigration more and more. Immigration will probably be “a top issue, if not the top issue, in the next election,” according to Miller.