World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. This content has been created by WES and is reproduced here with their permission, in partnership.
Canada’s Changing Immigration Patterns, 2000—2024 (Fraser Institute)
Canada experienced explosive growth in population driven largely by immigration through the admittance of permanent and non-permanent residents. From 2000 to 2015, the total number of migrants increased at an average rate of four percent compared to 15 percent from 2016 to 2024. These shifts reflect changes in immigration policy, primarily in International Mobility Programming that enables Canadian employers to attract and retain temporary foreign workers and the appointment of an Advisory Council on Economic Growth. In observing the economic outcomes of recent immigrants to Canada, they appear to be better equipped to participate in the labour market over the period of 2011-2021, with greater proficiency in official languages and at least a bachelor’s degree.
Canadians will see wages pick up as immigration slows (Toronto Star)
According to the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC), wages will increase – in contrast to population growth rates that are expected to decrease. Despite tariff induced pressures from the United States, Canada’s labour market has remained resilient this year. The national employment rate ticked up to seven percent in May, however, CBOC notes that this is still marginally higher than it was at the end of last year. Economists had expected a broad hit to jobs across the economy, but the impacts thus far have been experienced in trade-exposed sectors like manufacturing and transportation. Additionally, hiring is projected to be subdued for the rest of 2025 as businesses navigate payroll expansion amid trade war uncertainty. Wages have risen by 3.4 percent year over-year in May, and the economy is expected to grow by 1.5 percent this year as uncertainty around U.S. trade policies continues to weigh on business and consumer confidence.
Quebec won’t accept some sponsorship applications for immigrants until 2026 (Montreal Gazette)
The government of Quebec announced that their Immigration Department will not be accepting new applications from residents who want to sponsor their spouses, common-law partners, or adult children for immigration until next year. The Immigration Department shares that it has reached its cap for sponsorship in those categories; and as a result, families of these immigrants would have to wait until June 25, 2026. The government announced last year that it would process a maximum of 13,000 family applications from immigrants seeking reunification over the two-year period from June 2024 to 2026, after approving more than 16,500 in 2022 and more than 10,000 in the first six months of 2023.
Most of Nova Scotia's universities are in the red. Here's why, and what's next (CBC)
Caps on international student enrolment has sent shockwaves throughout Canada’s higher education; resulting in stagnated public funding and revenue. Universities in Nova Scotia are planning cuts program reviews and tuition increased in order to manage impending budget shortfalls for the upcoming year. The province’s large universities are planning to run on a deficit in 2025-2026, many of which are accustomed to surpluses. For example, Dalhousie, Cape Breton, and Mount Saint Vincent Universities have reported surpluses every year of the last 5 up to 2023-2024, but all three are in the red this academic year. For decades, provincial governments have committed to providing most operating revenue for universities, a rate that has since dropped from 55 percent in 2012 to nearly 40 percent in 2023. In Nova Scotia, government funding now makes up 33 percent of university revenue in the province. To address funding constraints, universities will be implementing across-the-board cuts to departments, axing programs, and increasing tuition for out-of-province and international students.
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