Canada has been offering working holiday visas to Australians since 1975. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Aussies have headed over to Canada for a year or two of backpacking.
Under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program, not everyone who nominates themself as a candidate for a Canadian working holiday visa is automatically invited to apply. However, until 2025, the Canadian government’s quota for working holiday visa applicants from Australia was unlimited. In practice, this meant that any eligible Australian who requested a Canadian working holiday visa would generally be invited to apply.
This is no longer the case.
In 2026, the Canadian government introduced a new annual limit on the number of new working holiday visas it will issue to Australian citizens. That quota for the year of 2026 is 5,670 visas.
“Very low” chance of Australians receiving an invitation in the next round
The Canadian government reports that, as of 14 August 2026, it has so far issued 8,535 invitations to Australians in 2026.
Not everyone who receives an invitation to apply will ultimately do so, and a small number of people who do apply might not have their applications approved. However, we do know that of the 5,670 Canadian working holiday visas available to be issued to Australians in 2026, only 127 more spots are available. This would indicate that 5,543 of the 5,670 available visas have already been issued in 2026.
However, there are still 1,473 Australian candidates in the pool to be invited to apply for a Canadian working holiday visa in 2026. Given there are only 127 possible spots up for grabs, the Canadian government therefore advises that the chance of Australians in the pool receiving an invitation in the next round is “very low”.
Until 2025, the chance of Australians receiving an invitation in the next round was consistently “excellent”.
Other nationalities also affected
Canada’s IEC working holiday program is open to young people holding passports from an impressive 36 countries.
The new quotas also impact applicants from all of the other countries.
For example, Canada’s new annual working holiday visa quota for applicants from New Zealand is 1,547 (of which 1,444 spots have already been taken this year). The new annual limit for British applicants is 9,285.
Canada trying to reduce migrant numbers
The reason for this change is fairly simple. For political reasons, the Canadian government is trying to reduce the number of temporary residents living in Canada between 2026-2028.
It reduced its 2026 target to 385,000 overall arrivals (which includes temporary foreign workers and students). In 2027 and 2028, the Canadian government plans to reduce this number slightly further, to 370,000 overall arrivals. This means the annual IEC quotas could be even lower over the next couple of years.
Canada isn’t the only country reducing the number of working holiday visas it issues. The Australian government is currently trying to do the same thing.
What does this mean for Australians dreaming of a Canadian adventure?
If you’re an Australian who wants to do a working holiday in Canada within the next few years, you should still become an IEC candidate. There is still a chance you’ll be invited to apply. It costs nothing to become a candidate in the pool, and you have to be “in it to win it”!
If you don’t receive an invitation to apply this year, you can re-nominate to go into the pool again next year. Nominations for the yearly pools typically open around mid-January, and you’ll have a better chance of success if you nominate earlier in the calendar year.
If you happen to have a New Zealand passport, you might also find that you have better luck nominating yourself as a New Zealand citizen because there are fewer Kiwis trying to apply, relative to the number of available spots. (If you do this, don’t also nominate as an Australian – and note that you can’t get a Canadian working holiday visa twice using different passports.)
Alternatively, Australians aged 18-30 can also apply for working holiday visas in around 45 other countries. If you’re aged 31-35, there are also a few other options. So, if Canada becomes out of reach, there are still other places where young Aussies can have an amazing working holiday experience.
Matt is the founder of Working Holidays for Aussies. Passionate about travel and always looking for great deals, he believes that a gap year is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture and learn all the things they didn’t teach you in school.
Originally from Australia, Matt has travelled to over 100 countries, lived in 7 countries, and has extensive real-world experience with working holiday visas.
Learn more and connect with Matt Graham on LinkedIn.
