January 7, 2025
A Brief Overview of Key Changes in Canadian Immigration Policy in 2024
In 2024, Canada rolled out significant changes to its immigration policies to address mounting challenges, including housing shortages, pressure on social services, and shifting labour market needs. These updates aim to strike a balance between meeting the country’s humanitarian commitments and ensuring sustainable growth.
In March, the government announced a plan to reduce the number of temporary residents to 5% of the population over the next three years. This includes international students and temporary foreign workers, with new targets set to take effect in 2025. Caps were introduced on international student permits, while programs like the International Mobility Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) were adjusted to align more closely with national priorities. The plan also focuses on transitioning more temporary residents to permanent status or encouraging them to leave Canada, rather than bringing in large numbers of new arrivals.
The targets were developed by analyzing factors such as permit expirations, transitions to permanent residency, and program approval rates. Some groups, like seasonal workers who leave Canada within the same year and asylum claimants whose cases must be legally assessed, are excluded from these calculations to ensure accuracy and fairness.
To support these targets, the government implemented several key reforms. The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWP) tightened eligibility criteria to better reflect labour market needs. For the TFWP, a 10% cap was placed on low-wage hires by employers, and the starting hourly wage for high-wage workers was increased by 20%. Additionally, work permits for spouses of international students and temporary workers are now subject to stricter rules.
Canada also took steps to address increasing pressures on its asylum system, driven by a rise in global displacement. Measures introduced include imposing partial visa requirements for certain countries, like Mexico, to reduce non-genuine claims; improving the processing of asylum applications; and enhancing fraud detection tools for immigration officers.
Throughout the year, Immigration Minister Marc Miller led efforts to cap student visas, reduce the number of new permanent residents, tighten the rules for work visas, and pause most private refugee sponsorship applications. These measures were introduced in response to growing public concerns about the cost of housing, increasing asylum claims, and broader economic pressures.
The government also introduced reforms to better align immigration with the needs of the labour market. Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) no longer provide points that previously boosted applicants in the Express Entry system. Low-wage applications were further restricted in areas with unemployment rates above 6%. To streamline processing, the government now requires online applications for extending temporary resident status, eliminating a practice known as “flag-poling,” where individuals would leave and re-enter Canada at a U.S. border crossing for faster processing. Employers now face stricter rules for permit approvals, aimed at reducing fraud and worker exploitation.
These changes reflect Canada’s ongoing effort to recalibrate its immigration system to address immediate challenges while still fulfilling its long-term humanitarian and economic goals.
Hannah Cho
Hannah graduated from the J.D. program at Western Law in 2023. While in law school, Hannah was the Vice-President of the Western Law Charter Society, where she organized and moderated panel discussions on pressing legal issues concerning the Canadian Constitution and Charter rights. She also volunteered as a Student Clinician at the Law Student Legal Advice Program in British Columbia, where she gained experience handling a wide range of legal matters, including residential tenancy, employment and human rights law Before law school, Hannah received her B.A. (Hons.) with distinction from the University of Toronto, St. George, in Criminology and Book and Media Studies.
Prior to joining Bellissimo Law Group PC, Hannah worked as a student-at-law at a private immigration law firm, where she gained experience in Canadian immigration law by working on a range of matters including temporary residency applications, work permit applications, applications for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and she has also co-written several articles on immigration law for platforms such as Law360 and International Law News.