Immigration is a key issue in Canadian federal politics. Both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party have released their 2025 election platforms, detailing their policies on several issues, including immigration. In the past, party leaders Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre have been vocal about immigration policies they would spearhead as the next Prime Minister of Canada. With the election less than a week away, today, we will cover all about Liberals v/s Conservatives on 2025 immigration policies.
So, without further ado, let us begin!
Immigration Targets
Immigration targets refer to the number of people the federal government plans to admit each year, usually highlighted in its multi-year Immigration Levels Plan.
Up until recently, the government only established targets for new permanent residents. The 2025-2027 Levels Plan, published in Oct of 2024 for the first time, included temporary resident targets for international students as well as temporary foreign workers.
Liberal Party
Mark Carney has been vocal about the fact that the current immigration system is not working. In a recent interview, he stated that the caps on immigration will remain in place ‘until we have expanded housing’.
As per the Liberal Party’s election platform, the Party plans to stabilize annual PR admission at less than 1% of Canada’s population beyond 2027.
This is in-line with Canada’s current immigration targets. The most recent Levels Plan sets a PR target of 395,000 in 2025. Considering that Canada’s population in 2025 is 41.5 million, this makes the current target less than 1% of the current population.
This suggests that Carney and the Liberal Party plan to keep the immigration cap to current levels.
Conservative Party
In a press conference in January of 2024, Pierre Poilievre suggested tying immigration levels to homebuilding.
Since then, he has mentioned on multiple occasions that the immigration numbers would be lower if he were to become prime minister, without getting into specifics.
According to the Conservative Party’s platform for change, the party would aim to limit permanent immigration ‘to a sustainable rate similar to the levels under the Harper government.’
Stephen Harper was prime minister between 2006 and 2015. During that time, Canada’s permanent immigration levels ranged between 247,000 and 281,000.
It is unclear whether the Conservatives mean that the absolute numbers would be similar to those during the Harper era or whether the annual figure for PR admissions would be proportionate to Canada’s current population.
The plan also reiterates keeping the rate of population growth below the rate of housing growth, job growth, and healthcare accessibility.
Temporary Foreign Workers
As far as Liberals v/s Conservatives on 2025 immigration policies are concerned, it is vital to note that both party leaders have spoken about the surge in temporary foreign worker numbers during the pandemic being unsustainable.
Liberal Party
The Liberal 2025 platform proposes ‘capping’ the tidal number of temporary workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.
Canada’s temporary resident population was 3.02 million (approx) as of January 1, 2025. That makes it 7.27% of the total population in 2025.
The Trudeau Liberal administration, under former Minister Marc Miller, began enacting measures in 2024 in order to reduce Canada’s temporary resident levels in the coming years by introducing targets into the annual Immigration Levels Plan, implementing a cap on study permit applications, and restricting eligibility for Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) and spousal open work permit.
In the latest Immigration Levels Plan, the target for the net new annual temporary resident arrivals decreases by 150,000 between 2025 and 2026.
Conservative Party
Poilievre has been highly critical of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program over the last few years.
As per the party’s platforms, if the Conservatives were to win, they claim they would ‘restore integrity to the system by cracking down on fraud and dramatically reducing the number of temporary foreign workers and foreign students.’
The party’s platform also states that, if the Conservatives were to be elected, they would require ‘union LMIA pre-checks.’
An LMIA, i.e., Labor Market Impact Assessment is a document the federal government issues, allowing an employer to hire a foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Presumably, requiring a union LMIA-pre check would mean that an employer would have to get union approval before being able to hire a foreign worker through the TFWP.
In the past, Poilievre has stated that foreign workers should be allowed in ‘rare circumstances’ where there are not enough Canadians to fill jobs, such as for farming or small businesses in tight labor markets.
Another Conservative Party plan, as per the 2025 platform, is requiring criminal background checks for individuals entering Canada on a student permit.
International students do not need to submit police certificates when applying for a study permit, although an immigration officer may request one if mandatory.
Note: Under Canadian immigration law, all foreign nationals must be admissible to Canada. Criminal inadmissibility is already grounds for refusal to issue a study permit – the Conservatives’ proposed change would be whether to require police certificates as part of every study permit application. It’s worth noting that applications for permanent residence already typically require police certificates from countries in which an applicant has lived as an adult for longer than six months.
Economic Immigration
The next thing to discuss under Liberals v/s Conservatives on 2025 immigration policies is economic immigration.
In general, both parties have viewed economic immigration favorably in the past, recognizing its need to fill labor market gaps and grow the economy in Canada.
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party’s 2025 platform includes plans to “revitalize” the Global Skills Strategy. The goal? To help high-growth Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs launch new projects that contribute to Canada’s economic growth.
Part of this strategy includes attracting high-skilled workers from the U.S.
The Liberals also want to work more closely with provinces and territories to speed up how foreign credentials and international work experience are recognized.
In Canada, jobs in fields like healthcare, skilled trades, and education are regulated at the provincial or territorial level. That means newcomers often have to meet different sets of rules depending on where they land, even if they’re qualified to work in the same job.
Conservative Party
The Conservatives haven’t included much about economic immigration in their 2025 platform.
However, Pierre Poilievre has previously spoken about the importance of simplifying foreign credential recognition.
In a speech from October 2024, he proposed a national licensing model for healthcare professionals. The idea is to introduce a “blue seal” system where provinces can opt-in, allowing immigrant doctors and nurses to pass a test, get a license, and start working without unnecessary delays.
Refugees And Asylum Seekers
The increasing number of asylum seekers arriving in Canada—many from the U.S.—has sparked a range of responses from the country’s political leaders.
Liberal Party
On the campaign trail, Mark Carney pointed to the rise in U.S. asylum seekers as a result of tougher immigration policies under President Donald Trump. He called the situation “not acceptable” and emphasized that Canada and the U.S. need to collaborate more closely to manage cross-border migration.
The Liberal platform promises to offer legal aid to refugees as well as asylum seekers so they can access proper legal advice and representation, helping speed up the processing of their cases.
Conservative Party
Pierre Poilievre has taken a more skeptical stance. He’s expressed concern that some refugee claims are fraudulent, and during a recent campaign stop, he stated that while he supports legal immigration, “if they’re a fraudster, they will have to go.”
He’s also floated the idea of capping the number of asylum seekers. While he says he’s committed to helping genuine refugees, he doesn’t support those “who lie to come into our country.”
The Conservative platform proposes a “last-in, first-out” system for processing refugee claims—meaning newer claims would be handled before older ones. The aim is to process straightforward cases quickly and reduce future backlogs.
They also suggest implementing a departure tracking system to better monitor foreign nationals who overstay their visas.
Border Security And General Safety
Security and public safety remain priorities for both parties, though the Conservatives have taken a more aggressive stance.
Liberal Party
The Liberals promise to maintain a fair and efficient immigration system which ensures failed claimants are removed after due process.
Their platform builds on existing policies, promising quicker removals after negative decisions and increasing resources for security screenings. They also want to identify and remove inadmissible individuals more swiftly, tighten visa rules, and crack down harder on immigration fraud.
Conservative Party
Poilievre has long been vocal about boosting border security. His earlier six-point plan includes sending military helicopters and Canadian Forces to the border, expanding CBSA authority beyond official crossings, and hiring more border agents.
The Conservative platform also states that anyone visiting Canada who commits a crime will be swiftly removed. This will streamline the process that currently varies based on the seriousness of the offense and legal complexities.
Francophone Immigration
The next thing to discuss under the Liberals v/s Conservatives on 2025 immigration policies is Francophone immigration.
Liberal Party
Mark Carney is pushing for stronger support for francophone immigration outside Quebec.
His plan proposes a target of 12% francophone immigration beyond Quebec by 2029—a jump from the current federal goals of 8.5% in 2025, 9.5% in 2026, and 10% in 2027.
Conservative Party
Poilievre has spoken in favor of preserving the French language and boosting francophone immigration, though his party’s 2025 platform doesn’t outline specific targets.
Other Aspects
Liberal Party
Beyond the major themes, the Liberals also pledge to:
- Use digital tools to cut processing times and reduce backlogs
- Strengthen coordination with provincial and territorial governments on everything from status decisions to settlement support
- Maintain reasonable immigration levels in collaboration with Quebec, ensuring the protection of the French language & culture
Conservative Party
The Conservatives take a clear stance against the Century Initiative’s population growth goals, which envision major Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal expanding dramatically in the coming decades.
While Canada’s large cities often attract the majority of newcomers, the federal government has been trying to spread immigration more evenly with programs like the Atlantic Immigration Program, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot.
The Century Initiative is a non-profit that argues a much larger population is necessary to secure Canada’s long-term economic prosperity—but the Conservative Party sees this vision as unrealistic and unsustainable.
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