Canada’s September 2025 Immigration Numbers: Where We Stand with Students and Workers

 Key Takeaways from September 2025 Data 

• New student arrivals dropped from August, which aligns with typical academic timelines.
• Work permit arrivals increased, with 17,515 new workers in September.
• Total arrivals from January to September are down by nearly 310,000 compared to the same period in 2024.
• Temporary-to-permanent resident transitions slowed to just under 15,000 in September, bringing the year-to-date total to 154,000.

International Student Arrivals: 

Despite September being a secondary arrival month for many academic programs, numbers dropped significantly compared to August’s seasonal peak.

September 2025 Snapshot

– 11,390 new student arrivals
– 473,860 active study permit holders
– Down 150,220 arrivals compared to Jan–Sept 2024

This sharp year-over-year decline reflects the lasting impact of the 2024–2025 policy shifts, including the national study permit cap, higher rejection rates, and tighter provincial allocations.

Context from the Immigration Levels Plan: Students Are Already Below Target

On paper, the Levels Plan’s 155,000 study permit admissions target for 2026 looks like a dramatic cut compared to the 2024 notional goal of 305,900.

But the reality is far more subtle.

As highlighted in our recent deep-dive on temporary residents and the Levels Plan, new student arrivals have already fallen so far that the 2026 target mostly reflects what’s happening organically. Ottawa appears to be formalizing a trend rather than imposing a fresh reduction.

New student arrivals each month of 2025:  

Work Permit Arrivals: Seasonal Slowdown Continues 

September brought 17,515 new worker arrivals, bringing the year-to-date total to 171,805, and confirming a year of much softer intake compared to 2024 (down 158,660 across Jan–Sept).

Breakdown by Stream

Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP):

•  4,025 arrivals in September
• 47,275 total so far in 2025

International Mobility Program (IMP):

• 13,490 arrivals in September
• 124,530 total so far in 2025

How This Aligns With the Levels Plan

Work-permit trends fit almost perfectly within the government’s 2026 adjustments:

The TFWP is heading toward a gradual pullback, falling from 82,000 allocations in 2025 to 60,000 in 2026, then 50,000 in both 2027 and 2028. Yet 2025 numbers show Canada is on pace for roughly 65,000–67,000 TFWP arrivals, meaning next year’s target represents only a modest reduction.

Meanwhile, the IMP’s numbers look murky due to the reclassification of PGWPs. With more than 124,000 IMP arrivals already recorded through September, Canada appears on track to finish 2025 near the new 2026 target of 170,000, suggesting very little real-world change is coming for employers or workers.

Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of arrivals:

Total Temporary Resident Population 

After a year of steady plateaus and small fluctuations, September delivered the first significant contraction of the temporary resident population:

August → September Change

• Study permit holders: 514,135 → 473,860
• Work permit holders: 1,488,540 → 1,494,900
• Both study and work permits: 287,885 → 251,300

Taken together, this represents a net decrease of roughly 70,000, bringing the total temporary resident population to 2,220,060, the lowest level recorded so far in 2025.

Here is a breakdown of these numbers over 2025:

TR-to-PR Transitions: Slower Pace but Still a Major Share of Admissions

Permanent residency transitions continued at a moderate pace in September, adding just under 15,000 new PRs for the month.

• 154,000 temporary residents have transitioned to PR so far in 2025
• This accounts for about 50% of Canada’s total permanent residency target for the year
• September’s contribution was relatively modest, reflecting a steadier, slower rhythm compared to earlier in the year

The data underscores an ongoing trend: a substantial portion of Canada’s permanent resident admissions continues to come from individuals already living in the country. With no major policy changes affecting this pathway, this pattern is expected to continue through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.

We’ll break down the October 2025 numbers as soon as they’re released. Want the update first? Join our free newsletter to get every analysis and data breakdown delivered straight to your inbox.