**Canada’s federal government has enacted sharp reductions in temporary resident inflows through the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, released in November 2025, targeting a drop in new student and worker arrivals by roughly 40 percent while stabilizing permanent resident admissions near 380,000.** This policy aims to bring non-permanent residents below 5 percent of the total population by the end of 2027, driving large net outflows of temporary residents that more than offset modest permanent immigration and natural increase. Statistics Canada data confirm the population fell 0.2 percent year-over-year by January 1, 2026—the first such annual decline since Confederation—and continued declining in the first quarter of 2026. Parliamentary Budget Office and other projections indicate flat-to-negative growth for the full year, with the cumulative effect of lower arrivals and ongoing departures outweighing other demographic components. These verified policy actions and early-quarter results underpin trader consensus favoring a net population decrease for 2026.