Canada’s Immigration Reduction Increases Urgency  

The Government of Canada is taking further action to reduce immigration across multiple immigration streams from 2025 through 2027. This latest measure is consistent with several policy changes the Canadian Government has made in 2024, and underscores the message that Empowered Startups’ President, Chris Lennon, has been repeating for months. 

“As we forecast at the outset of this year, the number of opportunities to immigrate to Canada is decreasing in response to historically high levels of immigration over the past few years,” explained Lennon. “Though Canada still has many excellent pathways available for those hoping to immigrate here, the limits on those pathways have been substantially reduced. We’ve been advising all entrepreneurs we’re engaged with that it is in their best interests to act quickly. Given the trend that has emerged with respect to tightening restrictions, candidates who are qualified and want to pursue the Canada Start-up Visa Program should secure a quota spot immediately.”   

Declining Opportunities

Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship (IRCC), Marc Miller, announced the latest round of restrictions, which reduces targets for temporary residents, specifically international students and foreign workers, as well as permanent residents. With the Canada Start-up Visa (SUV) Program in particular, benchmarks will be reduced dramatically, going from a target of 6,000 applicants achieving permanent residency this year to one of just 2,000 in 2025.   

The significant decline is predictable following the precipitous decrease in application volume as a result of the major SUV policy change six months ago. That alteration capped the annual limit on SUV applications at ten per Designated Organization, a company authorized by the Government of Canada to endorse qualified SUV candidates via a mandated Letter of Support. The hard ceiling on applications has resulted in an even lower cumulative threshold than many anticipated as several businesses that were previously listed as Designated Organizations have stopped offering an SUV program all together.  

Quality over Quantity’

As Canada’s leading incubator for the Canada SUV Program, Empowered Startups has embraced the change and the resulting elimination of many of the periphery figures that previously operated with little or no integrity when selling international candidates on false promises of what they would deliver.  

Empowered Startups is one of the longest serving organizations in the history of the SUV program and continues to offer its founders an unrivaled incubation experience in its industry-leading program. With limited quota spots available, interested candidates are encouraged to apply immediately before these highly coveted opportunities are gone.  

Apply to Empowered Startups’ Canada Start-up Visa Program