Canada's federal, provincial and territorial immigration ministers met in Toronto this week to discuss measures aimed at building a more sustainable immigration system, with provinces pressing for a larger role in selecting newcomers and managing regional labour market needs.
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The meeting of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI), chaired by federal Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab and her provincial and territorial counterparts, focused on aligning immigration levels with housing, infrastructure and settlement capacities while ensuring that employers continue to have access to skilled workers.
A key issue raised by provinces and territories was the need for greater control over economic immigration streams. Ministers highlighted the importance of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and regional pathways such as the Atlantic Immigration Program, arguing that these programmes are among the most effective tools for addressing local labour shortages and demographic challenges. Provincial and territorial ministers called for increased allocations under these streams and sought more clarity on how nomination targets are determined.
The ministers also discussed reforms to Canada's economic immigration system, including efforts to modernise application processes, reduce duplication between federal and provincial authorities and better align Express Entry selections with regional workforce requirements.
Another major focus was facilitating pathways for temporary residents already in Canada — including international students and foreign workers — to transition to permanent residency while maintaining sustainable overall immigration levels. Ministers stressed that settlement services and integration programmes must be coordinated across jurisdictions to support successful newcomer outcomes.
The discussions come as Canada implements its 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which aims to stabilise permanent resident admissions while reducing temporary resident inflows and bringing the temporary population to below 5% of the country's total population by the end of 2027. The federal government has framed the strategy as a move towards "sustainable immigration" that balances economic needs with pressures on housing and public services.
In a press release, Daib said, “Canadians expect their governments to manage migration responsibly, balancing sustainability and system integrity with efforts to attract the best talent in the world. Alongside our partners, we are doing that work now. By restoring confidence and control to our system, we will maximize the social and economic benefits that newcomers can bring to communities across Canada. I look forward to collaborating further on our shared priorities in the months and years ahead."
The last Immigration Levels Plan for 2026-2028 had also sought to balance labour market needs with pressures on housing, infrastructure and public services. The plan kept permanent resident (PR) admissions steady at 380,000 annually for each of the three years, with a greater emphasis on economic immigration streams and provincial nominee programmes. The federal government had also said it wants to reduce the country's temporary resident population to below 5% of the total population by the end of 2027 – that would imply reducing the temporary resident population to roughly 2.1 million people.
The plan sharply reduced the intake of temporary residents, particularly international students. Targets for new temporary resident arrivals — comprising students and workers — had been set at 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in both 2027 and 2028.
Immigration remains a shared responsibility between Canada's federal and provincial governments, with the FMRI serving as the main forum for coordinating national immigration policy and regional priorities.
