Borderlines17 Nov 2025

#189 - The 2026–2028 Levels Plan: Behind the Numbers

Canada’s new 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan is here, and it’s a lot more confusing than media headlines suggest.

This episode unpacks how the Carney government has quietly layered “one-time initiatives” on top of the official levels plan, including a massive cohort of protected persons and in-Canada temporary residents transitioning to permanent residence, and why the oft-repeated topline of 380,000 PRs is misleading once you add those extra streams.

Topics discussed also include shrinking the temporary resident share of the population, the quiet rollback of francophone immigration targets, cuts to IRCC’s budget, and the rule-of-law issues when the same legal criteria suddenly produce totally different outcomes and higher refusal rates.

We also answer live listener questions on CEC, work experience across multiple NOCs, why there aren't many ITAs, the H-1B pathway, and more.

5:05 – The “math’s not mathing”: topline 380,000 vs extra 140,000 PRs

19:00 – Temporary resident caps, extensions, and the missing data

27:26 – Francophone targets quietly reduced & what that signals

33:06 – Massive rebound of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2026

36:06 – H&C: 1,100 admissions and a 50-year backlog

37:35 – Budget cuts, IRCC HR reductions & shift to automation

43:04 – Potential new categories: researchers, senior managers, allied military

44:49 – Listener Q&A: is there hope for CEC? TR→PR vs CEC draws

48:02 – Are CEC ITAs being stalled to protect processing time stats?

49:16 – CEC work experience across multiple NOCs & “primary NOC” confusion

51:00 – Can wrong NOC coding sink an otherwise solid CEC application?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(239)

#229 - What Counts as Unauthorized Work in Canada? Plus Free Trade Work Permits

What actually counts as “work” under Canadian immigration law? The answer is much broader than simply receiving a paycheque.We discuss a recent Federal Court decision involving unauthorized work and t...

1 Sep 35min

#228 - How Express Entry Went Off the Rails, with Steven Paolasini

Canada’s Express Entry system was designed to rank skilled immigrants predictably and select those most likely to succeed economically. Has it instead become an unpredictable collection of category-ba...

25 Aug 51min

#227 - LMIA Exemption Code C-20, “Papers Please” and IRGC Conscripts

We discuss three recent developments:IRCC’s abrupt addition and removal of new requirements for C20 reciprocal-employment work permits;CBSA officers checking the immigration status of participants at ...

18 Aug 45min

#226 - Can Parliament Block Judicial Review? With Paul Daly and Sujit Choudhry

Can Parliament prevent courts from reviewing the decisions of administrative tribunals?In this episode, we discuss the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision in Democracy Watch v. Canada (Attorne...

11 Aug 54min

#225 - How "sustainable" is IRCC's lauded "return to sustainable immigration levels"?

Canada says it is returning immigration to “sustainable levels.” But what does sustainability actually mean? And sustainable for whom?Deanna Okun-Nachoff is joined by immigration lawyer Will Tao, foun...

5 Aug 58min

#224 - Stealth Rule Changes: PGWPs, Iranian Work Permits & Fairness

What happens when IRCC changes the rules after someone has already made major life decisions? Or even submitted their application?We start with recent Post-Graduation Work Permit refusals involving gr...

27 Jul 56min

#223 - Climate Refugees and The Welcome Table

Filmmaker Josh Fox joins Borderlines to discuss his new HBO documentary, The Welcome Table, and the growing displacement of people around the world because of climate change.Josh Fox is an Emmy Award-...

22 Jul 44min

#222 - LMIA Wage Thresholds Rise

Service Canada has increased the wage thresholds that determine whether an LMIA is classified as high wage or low wage. While the numbers may appear modest, the practical consequences are significant....

14 Jul 48min