Canada admitted 20 per cent fewer permanent residents in the first three months of this year, with study permits and asylum claims also falling.
The National Post reports that the country admitted 83,130 permanent residents between January and March, down from 104,320 over the same three months in 2025, accorThding to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada analyzed by the Association for Canadian Studies. It is the second consecutive year admissions have fallen. New study permits dropped 24 per cent and asylum claims fell 35 per cent over the same period.
Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, said in an email that the pattern is not a quarterly fluctuation. “Canada has moved from rapid immigration expansion to a deliberate government-driven contraction,” he said.
Nearly half that reduction in permanent residents came from a single country. The number of Indian citizens granted permanent residence fell to 21,565 from 31,690, a drop of 10,125 people that accounts for 48 per cent of the entire national decline. New study permits for Indian students fell 42 per cent, and India made up 55 per cent of the national drop in study permits.
The retreat from India has ben building up for two years. Study permits for Indian students fell to 93,840 in 2025 from 277,950 in 2023, a drop of 66 per cent, against 44 per cent for students from all countries. India accounts for 61 per cent of the national decline in student visas over that period.
Economic immigration fell 34 per cent in Ontario and 40 per cent in BC but rose seven per cent in Quebec. Economic immigrants are selected for their skills, education and work experience rather than family ties or need for protection. Family-sponsored admissions fell 16 per cent in Ontario, while Quebec was the only province in the country where they rose.
Admissions of resettled refugees and protected persons rose two per cent in Ontario and 47 per cent in Quebec, while falling 29 per cent in Alberta and 35 per cent in Manitoba. Asylum claims, which are requests for protection made by people already in Canada or at a border crossing, fell 35 per cent nationally from 28,450 to 18,605.
