Canada’s federal government has sharply reduced permanent resident targets to 380,000 for 2026 while imposing tighter caps on temporary residents such as international students and foreign workers to bring their share of the population below 5 percent by year-end. These measures have already produced consecutive quarterly population declines in late 2025 and a 0.2 percent year-over-year drop as of January 1, 2026, according to Statistics Canada. Parliamentary Budget Officer projections indicate flat overall growth for the calendar year as net outflows of non-permanent residents offset new permanent admissions and limited natural increase. Trader sentiment remains closely balanced because actual net migration depends on the pace of permit expirations, potential data revisions, and any policy adjustments that could alter outflows before December.