Canada’s Student Arrivals Hit Another Record Low in March 2026

At the same time, temporary worker arrivals rebounded slightly from February’s lows, though they remain far below levels seen in previous years.

The latest figures are part of IRCC’s broader effort to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada over the next two years through study permit caps, stricter work permit rules, and tighter eligibility requirements.

Key takeaways

• Canada welcomed just 2,085 new international students in March 2026, the lowest on record
• Canada welcomed 13,910 new temporary workers in March 2026, up from 10,840 in February.
• Between January and March 2026, Canada saw approximately 75 percent fewer new student and worker arrivals than during the same period in 2024.

International student arrivals

IRCC reports that 2,085 new study permit holders arrived in Canada in March 2026. That is just a handful fewer than February 2026 and roughly 45 percent lower than March 2025.

The decline is even more dramatic when compared to pre-cap levels in 2024:

Year-Over-Year Snapshot

• March 2024 saw approximately 16,860 new international student arrivals;
• March 2025 saw about 3,810;
• March 2026 saw just 2,085.

The federal government has repeatedly stated that these lower numbers are intentional. Canada’s 2026 Immigration Levels Plan set lower targets for new temporary resident arrivals, including international students.

IRCC currently expects to issue up to 408,000 study permits in 2026, including 155,000 permits for newly arriving international students.

Here are the monthly student arrival numbers for 2026:

What Can We Expect for International Student Arrivals in 2026?

March’s figures suggest Canada’s international student slowdown might not just be continuing, but accelerating. IRCC is still pursuing its goal of reducing temporary residents to below five percent of Canada’s population by the end of 2027, and international students remain a major part of that strategy.

So far, the numbers indicate the department may once again undershoot its own targets by a significant margin. Through the first three months of 2026, Canada has welcomed just over 11,000 new international students in total, putting the country far below the pace needed to reach IRCC’s annual target of 155,000 new student arrivals.

For comparison, IRCC had targeted 305,900 new international student arrivals in 2025, but only 115,385 actually arrived by the end of the year.

Unless student arrivals rebound sharply later this year, 2026 could see another substantial gap between IRCC’s targets and actual arrivals. That being said, a rebound may be possible, especially during the months of August–September when the fall school semester kicks off.

New worker arrivals

Canada welcomed 13,910 new work permit holders in March 2026. This marked a noticeable rebound from February’s figure of 10,840, which had been one of the lowest monthly totals in recent years. However, arrivals remain significantly below historical levels.

March 2026’s worker arrivals were about 25 percent lower than March 2025, and dramatically below March 2024, when Canada welcomed more than 63,000 temporary workers.

Breakdown by stream

Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)

Canada welcomed 3,500 workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in March 2026. That represents a sharp increase from February’s record-low figure of 2,075, but still roughly 27 percent fewer arrivals than in March 2025.

International Mobility Program (IMP)

Canada welcomed 10,410 workers through the International Mobility Program in March 2026. That was up from 8,765 in February 2026, but still around 25 percent lower than March 2025.

The IMP includes many open work permit categories, including Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs), IEC Working Holiday visas, and spousal open work permits.

Here are the monthly worker arrival numbers for 2026:

What Can We Expect for Temporary Workers Arrivals in 2026?

Similar to the trend with international students, Canada is also continuing to reduce the number of temporary workers entering the country. Under the 2026 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC set a target of 230,000 new worker arrivals, including 60,000 through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and 170,000 through the International Mobility Program (IMP).

March’s figures show that this reduction is already well underway. Canada welcomed 13,910 new work permit holders in March 2026, up from February’s unusually low figure of 10,840, but still significantly below historical levels.

As with international students, IRCC also fell well short of its worker arrival targets in 2025. The department had aimed for 367,750 new worker arrivals, but only 209,105 workers ultimately entered Canada that year. If current trends continue, Canada may once again finish the year well below its temporary worker targets for 2026.

Canada’s temporary resident population continues to fall

The total number of study and work permit holders physically present in Canada also declined in March 2026. According to IRCC there were approximately 2.188 million study and work permit holders in Canada at the end of February 2026. By the end of March, that number had fallen to approximately 2.171 million.

This means Canada’s temporary resident population declined by roughly 17,800 people in a single month.

The federal government has said it wants temporary residents to represent no more than five percent of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.

More temporary residents are becoming permanent residents

Even as fewer new temporary residents arrive in Canada, many people already in the country are continuing to transition to permanent residence. IRCC reports that 49,310 former temporary residents became permanent residents between January and March 2026.

According to the department, this represented roughly 59 percent of all new permanent residents admitted during that period.

This reflects a broader shift in Canada’s immigration strategy. Rather than relying primarily on new arrivals from outside the country, in recent years, IRCC has increasingly focused on selecting permanent residents from people already living and working in Canada.

Earlier this year, Canada launched the one-time In-Canada Workers Initiative. This initiative aims to fast-track the processing of permanent residence applications from 33,000 workers who are already in Canada. In 2026, Canada plans to admit at least 20,000 workers through this initiative. Between January and March, 5,800 admissions were processed, accounting for 29 percent of the year’s target.

What this means for newcomers

For prospective international students and temporary workers, these numbers confirm that Canada’s immigration system is still in a period of major transition. The federal government is continuing to reduce temporary resident volumes after years of rapid growth, and the impact is now clearly visible in the monthly arrival data.

At the same time, Canada is still prioritizing pathways that allow existing temporary residents to become permanent residents, particularly through Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs).

It may be getting harder to be admitted to Canada in the first place, but once you’re here, you have substantial opportunities to stay long-term.