Immigration Policy Needs Fundamental Reform, Council Warns

September 16, 2025 – Canada’s immigration policy continues to move in the wrong direction and requires a fundamental course correction, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Immigration Targets Council.

In “Immigration Policy Still in Need of a Course Correction,” the Council – composed of leading academics and policy experts – stresses that who is selected matters more than meeting numeric targets. They determined that immigration should be guided by human capital and long-term prosperity, not short-term labour market fixes or non-economic objectives. Notably, members also emphasized the importance of transparent, predictable policy that ensures economic immigrants have strong skills, earnings potential, and integration prospects.

Building on these principles, the Council recommended lowering annual permanent resident admissions from government targets to 365,000 in 2026, 360,000 in 2027, and 350,000 in 2028. Members also raised concerns about the rapid growth of the non-permanent resident population, urging Ottawa to maintain its current ceiling of 5 percent of Canada’s population in 2026, with a review in early 2027.

The Communiqué highlights the need to overhaul both temporary and permanent immigration programs. Recommendations include stronger admission standards for international students, reducing reliance on low-skilled temporary workers by scaling back the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and simplifying permanent economic immigration pathways around Express Entry. A revised Comprehensive Ranking System would place greater weight on predictors of long-term success, such as the field of study for all applicants and verified earnings in Canada for those with prior Canadian experience. Members also called for more efficient asylum processes and targeted fast-track pathways to attract top-tier global talent in science, medicine, and artificial intelligence.

“Canada must move from chasing numbers and pursuing short-term or non-economic objectives to focusing on skills,” says Parisa Mahboubi, Senior Policy Analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute and Council Convener. “A principled, transparent, and sustainable immigration policy will raise human capital, strengthen prosperity, help maintain balance in the non-permanent resident population, and sustain public confidence.”

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For more information, contact: Parisa Mahboubi, Senior Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute; Percy Sherwood, Associate Editor and Communications Officer, C.D. Howe Institute, 416-407-4798, psherwood@cdhowe.org.

The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada’s most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.

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