Canada Plans To Poach H-1B Visa Holders, Skilled Workers Amid US Immigration Crackdown

Amid its biggest immigration overhaul in decades, Canada is planning to reduce admissions of foreign students, including Indians, by 25-32 per cent starting next year, while creating special entry pathways for thousands of top international researchers and H-1B visa holders from the United States. 

In its first budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has unveiled a plan to attract international talent, earmarking over Rs 106 crore ($1.2 billion) to recruit more than 1,000 skilled professionals.

"The expertise of these researchers will help advance our global competitiveness and contribute to the economy of the future," the budget document said.

Team Carney is also planning to launch an "accelerated pathway" for H-1B visa holders in the coming months. 

Canada's new programme is likely to attract top-tier talent from the US and across the world. The move follows US President Donald Trump's decision to increase fees for H-1B visas to $100,000. Since Trump came to power, his administration's ever-changing plans for the future of the H-1B visa programme and green cards have left several high-skilled immigrants in the US feeling anxious.

Ottawa has been maintaining tight controls over the number of immigrants it lets into Canada after a surge in population growth in recent years.

What's Ottawa's Target?

Under the new immigration plan, Ottawa plans to reduce the number of incoming residents in the country while maintaining the flow of high-skilled labour. It has a target of bringing in 380,000 permanent residents per year from 2026 through 2028. However, it's cutting the number of temporary residents allowed to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 for the following two years, according to a Bloomberg report. 

This reflects a reduction of over 40 per cent from this year. Further plummeting the drop, the government is also planning to sharply reduce the number of new study permits issued this year. The target is to issue 155,000 in 2026 and reduce it to 150,000 in both 2027 and 2028, the report said.

That's a huge drop from the targets set by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, which projected 305,900 permits annually for the period from 2025 to 2027.

Universities Canada said in a statement that it "recognises the government's efforts to build a sustainable immigration system that welcomes those seeking to study at Canada's world-class universities, but the plan must match this government's talent and economic agenda."

Why Ottawa Is Reducing Inflow Of Immigrants

A report by Desjardins, a Canadian financial firm, states that fewer immigrants into the country "should support wage growth in the near-term, as employers bid to attract fewer available workers."

The move is also likely to slow population growth compared with previous targets. However, Desjardins said its revisions to forecasts for gross domestic product growth are minimal. 

"The slower population growth should ease shelter inflation, particularly in the rental sector, as temporary foreign workers and international students are more likely to rent. Lastly, the slower pace of population growth should help reverse Canada's falling GDP per capita," the report said. 

The government is now aiming to reduce the share of non-permanent residents to less than 5 per cent of the population by the end of 2027, pushing out that goal by a year. The figure was 7.3 per cent on July 1.