For Indians, Canada has long been the destination of choice. That ground is shifting.
Between 2015 and 2023, the number of Indian students in Canada grew from 31,920 to 278,005, a staggering 770% increase. As recently as early 2025, India accounted for 45.8% of all Canadian study and work permit approvals — nearly 382,000 permits in just the first quarter alone.
But the tide has turned sharply. Canada introduced a cap on study permits, tightened post-graduation work permit rules, and restricted spousal work permits — contributing to a projected 52% drop in Indian student arrivals in 2025 compared to the previous year, erasing nearly two-thirds of the gains from the past decade.
Now, a Planera automation study adds another layer of concern. Canada ranks second globally in AI exposure, with close to 4 million workers in roles that machines can handle — with 75% of tech jobs and 72% of food service roles predicted to face automation. Indians who migrate to Canada overwhelmingly enter precisely these sectors — IT, hospitality, retail, and professional services. The promise of a stable career abroad may now need to be weighed against the reality that the jobs most accessible to new arrivals are also the ones most vulnerable to being replaced.
The April 2026 report by workforce analytics firm Planera has ranked the countries where artificial intelligence poses the greatest threat to employment — and the findings upend a common assumption. It is not factory workers who face the biggest risk, but service sector employees: hotel staff, retail clerks, accountants, and admin workers whose daily tasks AI is rapidly learning to perform.
The study used official labour data from government sources and matched them with automation risk probabilities across industries including hospitality, finance, retail, and professional services. Countries were ranked by what share of their workforce holds jobs that machines can realistically replace.
Malta tops the list as the world’s most exposed economy
Malta ranks first globally, with nearly 47% of its workforce holding roles that AI can replace.
Canada follows close behind, with 45% of its workforce — close to 4 million people — employed in roles machines can handle. Information technology and food service are particularly exposed, with automation risk probabilities of 72-75% in both. Greece sits third at nearly 45%, with 2.5 million workers vulnerable. Its heavy reliance on tourism means accommodation and food services alone account for 730,000 people facing a 72% replacement risk, while retail adds another 880,000 at 51% risk.
Cyprus ranks fourth, with around 228,000 workers — 45% of its employed population — in automatable roles. Legal, accounting, and scientific jobs face a 70% replacement probability, compounded by the island’s geographic isolation, which limits job mobility. Luxembourg rounds out the top five, where lawyers and accountants face worse odds than even bankers — 70% of their work is considered easily replaceable.
The United States carries the largest absolute burden
The Netherlands, United States, Spain, Belgium, and Italy complete the top ten. While the US ranks seventh by percentage at 43.6%, it carries the largest absolute number of at-risk workers by far — nearly 69 million people out of a workforce of 158 million. Spain adds 10 million workers at risk, and Italy a further 12 million, reflecting how deeply service-dependent economies across southern Europe are exposed.
Why services, not factories, are the real frontier
The report’s central finding challenges widespread perception. Manufacturing was already heavily automated through the 20th century — the workers remaining in factories today largely perform tasks machines still cannot. But service jobs, long considered people-dependent, are now in the crosshairs. Admin assistants, retail clerks, hospitality staff, and junior white-collar roles are filled with repetitive, rule-based tasks that AI models are increasingly capable of executing faster and at lower cost.
The findings arrive as major employers accelerate AI-driven restructuring — Amazon recently cut 16,000 international roles, replacing the functions with AI systems. For policymakers across Malta, southern Europe, and North America, the data points to an urgent need for retraining programmes.
