Canada’s federal government has maintained tight controls on temporary resident arrivals while accelerating outflows through permit expirations and policy adjustments, aiming to reduce their share of the population below 5 percent by the end of 2027. Statistics Canada’s September 2026 quarterly estimates showed the population at 41.8 million on July 1, with year-over-year growth of just 0.5 percent—the slowest since the mid-1940s—driven by a net drop of roughly 155,000 non-permanent residents offset by 368,000 new permanent residents. Revised figures eliminated earlier signs of outright quarterly declines but confirmed the sharp slowdown in net international migration. With 2026 permanent resident targets set at 380,000 and further temporary resident reductions planned, traders see these measures as likely to produce flat or negative annual change by December despite positive natural increase.