Two million temporary migrants to lose status: Protesters in Brampton demand permanent residency as visas expire

Protesters in Brampton are demanding a pathway to permanent residency for more than two million temporary migrants whose visas are set to expire in the coming months.A group called the United Immigrant Workers Front led this week’s protest, calling for all temporary permit holders to be allowed to stay in Canada permanently.

The demonstration was supported by members of CUPE Ontario and the Marxist Leninist Party of Canada.In a video posted on Instagram on Monday, organisers shed light on the looming visa expirations and called for certainty for those affected. The Brampton protest follows similar demonstrations in Quebec, where activists are urging the government to allow temporary residents to stay as immigration programs change.

The province is phasing out the Programme de l’expérience Québécoise, which previously fast‑tracked international students and foreign workers into permanent residency, and replacing it with a stricter skills-based nominee program.

Indians are expected to be among those most affected because India consistently provides a large share of temporary residents, including students and workers. Nearly 188,000 Indian students held study permits in 2024, making up over 36 % of all international students, while about 249,000 Indians held work permits in the same period.

With many work permits and student visas set to expire, the Union of Quebec Municipalities, along with several unions and businesses, has launched a campaign to help migrants “continue their lives here.”Organisers in Brampton also pointed to calls from unions across Canada for more inclusive immigration policies. In late 2024, the Canadian Labour Congress stated that “migrant workers in Canada deserve access to permanent residency and citizenship.”Canada currently has one of the largest temporary resident populations in its history. In early 2022, Statistics Canada reported 1.4 million non-permanent residents. By October 2024, that number had grown to 3.2 million, making up 7.5 per cent of the total population. The latest estimate puts the number at 2.8 million, meaning about one in 15 people in Canada is living on a temporary status, compared with one in 50 a decade ago.Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the surge in temporary migration “far exceeded our ability to welcome people and make sure that they had good housing and services.” The federal budget for 2025 described the increase as “unsustainable” and said controlling immigration growth would help young Canadians in the labour market.The government plans to reduce non-permanent residents to about five per cent of the population. Some temporary migrants may be fast-tracked into permanent residency, but others are expected to leave voluntarily. Canada has a limited ability to remove those who overstay their visas. Last year, the Canada Border Services Agency removed about 22,000 people with expired status and refused entry to 40,000 others.