Foreign interest in Canadian jobs has fallen by more than half since 2023 as Canada tightens its immigration policy, according to new analysis from Indeed Hiring Lab published on October 20.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab Canada

Indeed researcher Sneha Puri found that job seekers outside Canada accounted for close to 8% of clicks on Canadian job postings in July 2023, but only 3% by September 2026, according to the analysis reported by Human Resources Director on October 23 and by Dow Jones Newswires on October 20.

3%foreign share of clicks on Canadian job postings, September 2026 (Indeed)
~8%peak foreign share of clicks, July 2023 (Indeed)
385,000 (3.85 lakh)new temporary arrivals planned for 2026 under Canada's 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan

The drop tracks deliberate policy, Indeed said. Under its 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) set new temporary arrivals at 385,000 (yaani 3.85 lakh) in 2026, down from about 674,000 (yaani 6.74 lakh) in 2025. Non-permanent residents, who added as many as 308,000 people in a single quarter in 2023, have since shrunk Canada's population in five of seven quarters through mid-2026, Indeed found.

Indeed also found that US job seekers represented only 21% of foreign clicks on Canadian jobs in the third quarter of 2026, down from 28% in the fourth quarter of 2024, a fall it linked to the deterioration in the US-Canada trade relationship.

Employers in engineering, hospitality and retail may feel the squeeze first, the reporting said, with engineering roles — including civil, electrical and industrial engineering — seeing rising domestic postings but substantially less interest from foreign candidates.

Royal Bank of Canada economist Rachel Battaglia said in November 2025 that, with outflows proving difficult to manage, the government "turned to dramatically cutting inflows as the primary tool to meet its population targets," warning this risks Canada's pipeline of educated talent. The Bank of Canada said in October 2026 that less immigration means fewer workers and slower growth, according to the Indeed report.

For Punjabi and Indian readers, the figures matter directly: Canada has long been the top destination for Punjabi students and workers, and Indeed's data suggests would-be newcomers are now looking elsewhere as pathways narrow — even as Canada's own central bank warns of slower growth with fewer newcomers.