Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released the much-anticipated breakdown of the 2026 study permit cap and its subsequent provincial study permit application allocations.
This move represents a recalibration of Canada’s international student program, aiming to manage the country’s temporary resident population.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass had earlier reported that IRCC pegged the 2026 student permit cap at 408,000.
This is a total study permit that includes both new arrivals and extensions for students already in Canada. This target is lower than in previous years, reflecting the government’s strategy to restore sustainability to the system.
Canada’s Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, made this known while delivering the federal budget earlier this month.
“We are taking back control of our immigration system and putting Canada on a trajectory to bring immigration back to sustainable levels,” Champagne said.
Under the new policy, Canada is set to grant permanent residency in 2026 and 2027 to 33,000 work permit holders who have “strong roots in their communities, are paying taxes, and are helping to build the strong economy Canada needs,” Champagne explained.
A breakdown of the 408,000 study permits in 2026 shows that 155,000 permits will be issued for newly arriving international students, while 253,000 extensions will be issued for current and returning students.
The 2026 student permit cap is 7% lower than the 2025 issuance target of 437,000 and 16% lower than the 2024 target of 485,000.
The most critical component of the new framework is the provincial distribution of permits that require a Provincial/Territorial Attestation Letter (PAL/TAL).
Only 180,000 of the total expected permits are allocated to applicants who need a PAL/TAL, primarily affecting undergraduate and non-exempt college-level students.
Provinces have been assigned a maximum number of applications they can accept and process (the “application-allocation” space), which is higher than the expected final approval number to account for refusal rates.
Allocations represent the number of study permit applications each province can issue to meet its 2026 target.
These allocations take into account refusal rates, meaning that jurisdictions with lower approval rates receive a larger number of allocations so they can reach their issuance goals.
The 180,000 permits requiring PAL/TAL will be distributed to provinces and territories based on population:
- Ontario: 70,074
- Quebec: 39,474
- British Columbia: 24,786
- Alberta: 21,582
- Manitoba: 6,534
- New Brunswick: 3,726
- Nova Scotia: 4,680
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 2,358
- Prince Edward Island: 774
- Northwest Territories: 198
- Yukon: 198
- Nunavut: 180
Application allocations for PAL/TAL-required cohorts
IRCC has also assigned application spaces to each province based on approval rates from 2024 and 2025. In total, 309,670 application spaces will be available for PAL/TAL-required students.
Key allocations include:
- Ontario: 104,780
- Quebec: 93,069
- British Columbia: 32,596
- Alberta: 32,271
- Saskatchewan: 11,349
- Manitoba: 11,196
- Nova Scotia: 8,480
- New Brunswick: 8,004
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 5,507
- Prince Edward Island: 1,376
- Yukon: 257
- Northwest Territories: 785
- Nunavut: 0
These allocations represent the maximum number of applications IRCC will accept for processing in 2026. Each province or territory is responsible for distributing its spaces to its designated learning institutions.
This means students applying to study in Canada in 2026 will face fewer slots and more competition, especially in popular provinces, but graduate students, K–12 students, and returning students at the same school have easier access due to exemptions from the attestation requirement.
