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Canada heads to the polls today, and for hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals either living in the country or planning to move, the outcome could be crucial. Immigration policies have a direct impact on students, workers and families.
The current Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has strong links with the Century Initiative, a think tank pushing for Canada’s population to grow to 100 million by 2100. Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, had immigration policies heavily influenced by the Century Initiative. So far, Carney has not given any strong indication that he would reduce immigration levels.
“If Carney wins the election, Indians aspiring to immigrate to Canada would find it easier to do so. On the other hand, the crises of expensive housing, high cost of living and lack of jobs would get further exacerbated,” Darshan Maharaja, a Canada-based immigration analyst told Business Standard.
He also warned that individual Indians should carefully assess their financial prospects before deciding to move.
Current immigration targets
Until recently, Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan mainly focused on permanent residents. In October 2024, for the first time, the government introduced targets for temporary residents as well.
Liberal leader Mark Carney has acknowledged the strain on infrastructure. “Caps on immigration will remain in place until we’ve expanded housing,” he said in a recent interview.
The Liberals have proposed keeping permanent resident admissions below 1% of Canada’s population beyond 2027. The current target is 395,000 permanent residents for 2025, which is less than 1% of the projected population of 41.5 million.
As of January 1, 2025, Canada had around 3.02 million temporary residents, making up roughly 7.27% of the population.
The Liberal Party has proposed reducing this share to under 5% by the end of 2027, with steps including:
< Adding temporary resident targets to immigration plans
< Placing caps on study permit applications
< Restricting access to post-graduation and spousal open work permits
< Reducing net new temporary arrivals by 150,000 between 2025 and 2026
Meanwhile, Poilievre has criticised the Temporary Foreign Worker Program sharply. “We will crack down on fraud and dramatically reduce the number of temporary foreign workers and foreign students,” he said during a campaign event.
The Conservative Party proposes:
< Requiring union Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for hiring foreign workers
< Limiting temporary workers mainly to agriculture or small towns with shortages
< Requiring criminal background checks for all international students
Currently, police certificates are only asked for if an officer requests them during the study permit process.
Economic immigration and employment
The Liberal Party supports economic migration and promises to “revitalise” the Global Skills Strategy to attract highly skilled workers, particularly from the United States. It also plans to fast-track the recognition of foreign credentials, especially in healthcare and trades.
Poilievre, in contrast, has spoken about a “blue seal” national licensing standard that provinces could adopt to help immigrant healthcare workers get jobs faster.
Impact on education
Indian student numbers have fallen sharply, dropping by over 40% between 2023 and 2024, according to ICEF Monitor. Experts said this was largely due to Canada’s real estate crisis, tighter visa rules, and tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa.
However, there are signs of optimism. With US President Donald Trump taking a harder line on international students, Canada could regain its appeal for Indian students.
As of the latest update to the CBC Poll Tracker, the Liberals were polling at 43.1%, compared to the Conservatives’ 38.4%. The NDP had 8.3%, the BQ 5.8% nationally (25.4% in Quebec), the Greens 2.2%, and the People’s Party 1.4%. It marks a striking turnaround for the Liberals, who were 24 points behind in January and are now ahead by 4.7 points.
Numbers at a glance as per IRCC Annual Immigration Reports
Permanent residents
2015: 39,340 Indians became permanent residents
2023: 139,715 Indians became permanent residents
International students
2015: 31,920 Indian students held study permits
2023: 278,860 Indian students held study permits
Temporary foreign workers
2015: 24,000 Indian nationals had Canadian work permits
2023: 64,000 Indian nationals had Canadian work permits
The rapid growth over the past decade has been driven largely by policies under the Trudeau government. However, rising concerns about housing and infrastructure have already pushed the Canadian government to announce lower immigration targets starting late 2024.
