OTTAWA — Canada’s 2026-2028 immigration levels plan aims to increase the number of economic immigrants coming to the country while cutting temporary migration, largely through a dramatic reduction in student visas.

The new levels plan cuts in half the planned number of student visas for the next three years, bringing it down to 155,000 in 2026 from about 306,000 in the previous year’s plan. The government plans to issue about 150,000 student visas annually in both 2027 and 2028.

Post-secondary institutions across Canada have been experiencing deep budget cuts due to reduced income from international student tuition fees, which tend to be four to five times higher than those paid by domestic students.

The new plan continues a previously announced reduction in the number of temporary work

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