What the Liberals have in store for Canada’s immigration policy
The Liberal Party of Canada has won the 2025 federal election.
The Liberal Party is expected to form a minority government.
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As leader of the Liberal Party, Mark Carney is expected to be invited by the Governor General to assume the role of Prime Minister of Canada.
Although it’s not possible to know in advance what policies the Liberals will implement, we can gain a sense of the overall direction they plan to take immigration policy by reviewing their platform and campaign statements.
“Stabilizing” permanent resident admissions
The Liberals’ 2025 election platform acknowledges that the previous federal government let immigration levels grow at an “unsustainable” pace, putting pressure on housing and social infrastructure, and that they would have to “adjust the numbers to get back on track.”
In that light, the party promises to “stabilize permanent admissions (PR) at less than 1% of Canada’s population annually beyond 2027.”
This is in line with the Canada’s current PR targets. As per the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027, Canada’s overall planned permanent resident admission targets are 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027.
Canada’s population is estimated to be 41.5 million in 2025, so the annual targets in the current plan are already set at less than 1% of the population.
Reducing temporary resident levels
Canada’s temporary resident population is estimated at 3.02 million as of January 2025, of an estimated population of 41.5 million. That makes it approximately 7.25% of the total population.
The Liberal Party platform promised to return this to “sustainable levels” by reducing the proportion of temporary workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.
As per the latest Levels Plan, the government expects to see the number of temporary residents decrease as
- More temporary residents transition to PRs; or
- Leave Canada due to their status expiring.
The previous Liberal government, under former immigration minister Marc Miller, implemented several measures to reduce Canada’s temporary resident levels, including imposing a cap on study permit applications, and significantly restricting eligibility for Post Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs) and Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWPs).
During a campaign stop, Mark Carney stated that “immigration caps will remain in place until we’ve expanded housing, and we’ve reabsorbed the levels of immigration that have happened in our country [during the pandemic].”
Increasing francophone immigration
The Liberal Party has proposed increasing the target for francophone immigration outside Quebec to 12% by 2029.
This represents a further increase from the current federal targets, which are set at 8.5% in 2025, 9.5% in 2026, and 10% in 2027 in the latest Levels Plan.
The aim is to bolster French-speaking communities outside Quebec and address demographic and labour needs in minority francophone regions.
Supporting economic immigration
The Liberal Party’s platform mentions revamping the Global Skills Strategy to help “attract top global talent.”
The Global Skills Strategy is a federal program that helps eligible Canadian businesses hire skilled workers from around the world, with priority work permit processing in two weeks.
The Liberal Party plan includes new projects that could help high-growth Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs attract talent. It also mentions an intention to draw highly skilled workers from the US, in particular.
The Party also says it will work with provinces and territories to streamline and speed up recognition of foreign credentials and international professional experience.
Other Liberal Party promises
- Using “digital service tools” to reduce processing times and eliminating backlogs;
- Providing legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees so they can get timely advice and their cases can be resolved quickly;
- Removing failed claimants once due process has been accorded (it is unclear how this is different from current policy);
- Increasing resources for border security, tightening visa requirements and improving the enforcement against immigration fraud.
- Continuing to administer immigration as a shared responsibility with the government of Quebec.
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