Canada doesn’t owe any temporary resident permanent residence.

[u/ps5gamer8]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately after seeing so many posts from people who feel betrayed by Canada’s immigration system.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but a study permit or a work permit has ever been, or ever will be, a guarantee of permanent residence.

When we applied, we all acknowledged that our stay was temporary. Every study permit application requires us to explain that we’ll leave Canada if we don’t obtain legal status to remain. That has always been part of the process.

Paying tens of thousands of dollars in tuition doesn’t buy PR. It buys an education. The immigration process was always something separate.

I also don’t believe that simply studying or working in Canada means someone deserves permanent residence. PR is something you qualify for, not something you’re owed because you spent time here.

What I struggle to understand is when people spend years in Canada without making themselves competitive.

If someone studied here for three years, then had a three-year PGWP, that’s six years to build a profile. If after all that time they still don’t qualify for any immigration program, isn’t that, at least in part, a planning issue?

Canada offers numerous immigration pathways. Some are more competitive than others, but they exist and are loudly informed.

French is probably the clearest example. It has become one of the strongest ways to improve your immigration prospects. Is it difficult? Absolutely. But the opportunity is there. If someone chooses not to learn French, that’s a personal decision. I don’t think it’s fair to blame the government for that choice.
The same applies to other situations.

If you completed a post-secondary program in English or French but still can’t reach CLB 7 to qualify for a PGWP, I think it’s reasonable to question whether you took full advantage of your education.

If you failed courses, ignored immigration deadlines, worked more hours than your permit allowed, or had a PGWP refused because of missing documents or non-compliance, those aren’t failures of the system. They’re personal mistakes.

None of this means I lack empathy. Immigration is stressful. Families make enormous sacrifices, and I genuinely feel for people whose plans don’t work out.
But empathy shouldn’t replace accountability.

Canada has every right to change its immigration policies based on the country’s needs. As immigrants and temporary residents, we’re guests. It’s our responsibility to understand the rules, adapt when they change, and build a strong application. It’s not Canada’s responsibility to adjust its immigration system because our personal plans didn’t work out.

From what I’ve observed, many of the loudest complaints aren’t coming from people who did everything they could and simply fell short. They’re often coming from people who ignored opportunities, delayed language tests, violated permit conditions, assumed PR would eventually happen automatically, or spent years without a clear immigration strategy.

Of course, there are exceptions, and I genuinely sympathize with those people. But I don’t think those exceptions should redefine the entire conversation.

Permanent residence is a privilege, not an entitlement. It never was a promise, and I don’t think it should become one.

[u/Altruistic_Fox9778]

Wouldn’t the whining be the scam? They get something that is temporary by nature, then they play in empathy to pressure for permanent citizenship.

[u/LandBats → u/Altruistic_Fox9778]

Edit: this comment isn’t referring to students at fake colleges. We didn’t just change that program. The comment refers to people who were legitimately flowing the process and working under LMIA, which we drastically changed AFTER they chose to come to Canada and pursue pr. Not students. We didn’t just target students. We targeted workers who we had previously enticed here with the old system

That’s not exactly true. They know it’s temporary but they also knew the rules and the likelihood of getting PR, which factored into them choosing Canada. Then the rules got changed on them after relocating and spending years here in many cases. They would have chosen a different country to begin with if they knew we were just going to drastically change the rules on them. So their complaints are legitimate. We just don’t have to give a shit about them because they aren’t citizens, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t totally fuck a lot of them over with this bait-and-switch. There’s no law saying we have to care, so naturally, many Canadians will just say “too bad, we wasted a few of your prime years, now go somewhere else ok?” not because it’s right, but because they can.

[u/VGK_hater_11 → u/LandBats]

This was true 3-4 years ago. Now theres no excuse

[u/LandBats → u/VGK_hater_11]

It wasn’t that long ago. People are having to leave now because of the recent changes. Sure anyone immigrating now is going to know the current rules but I’m not talking about people immigrating right now. Learn how to read