Question Period Note: Immigration Levels Plan 2026-2028

Canada’s immigration levels for 2026-2028.

• Canada is taking back control of its immigration system to restore balance and sustainability, while continuing to uphold its humanitarian commitments.
• Our approach has put immigration on a responsible trajectory that allows us to meet the economic and labour needs of communities and deliver on the promise of opportunity for those who call this country home.
• Under the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, permanent resident admissions will remain below 1% of the population beyond 2027 and total temporary population will be reduced to under 5% of the population by the end of 2027.

If pressed on PBO report:
We welcome the report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer which recognizes that IRCC is on the right track to meet its objective on the reduction of the temporary population in Canada.

As our population ages and labour market needs evolve, immigration remains essential for supporting economic growth, sustaining essential services, and maintaining Canada’s global competitiveness.

The 2026-2028 Levels Plan sets lower temporary resident admission targets aimed to restore sustainability to the immigration system while continuing to attract top talent.

We recognize that more needs to be done. That's why we are working to restore balance to the system, stabilize growth, and ensure that newcomers can successfully integrate and contribute to communities across the country.

• Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Minister of IRC must table Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan (Levels Plan) in Parliament. As the Prime Minister announced on October 22, this year, the Plan was included in Budget 2025.

• Beginning with the 2025-2027 Levels Plan, IRCC expanded the Levels Plan to include targets for new temporary resident (TR) arrivals (i.e., international students and foreign workers) in addition to permanent resident (PR) admissions.

• The 2026-2028 Levels Plan presents an overall reduction to TR arrivals and a stabilization of PR admissions over the next three years:
2026 2027 2028
TR Targets 385,000 370,000 370,000
PR Targets 380,000 380,000 380,000

• Overall, targets aim to strike a balance between supporting Canada’s ambitious economic agenda, meeting labour market needs while prioritizing first and foremost the Canadian workforce, and reducing pressures on housing, healthcare and other services.

• One-time initiatives will also be implemented to transition some individuals in Canada who are already on a pathway to permanent residence: Protected Persons in Canada and some temporary workers.

Temporary Residents
• TRs play an important role in supporting Canada’s economy and shaping our cultural fabric. However, the number of people working and studying temporarily in Canada has to consider and align with the evolving needs of our labour market, housing supply, and welcoming capacity.

• TR reduction policy changes have already started to have an impact. 361,935 fewer new workers and students arrived in Canada in 2025 compared to 2024, a drop of 53%, with the full impact still to come.

• Targets for workers, including those under the International Mobility Program (IMP) and Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, are set at 230,000 in 2026 and 220,000 in 2027 and 2028.

o Workers make up approximately 60% of all TR arrivals across all three years and are prioritized to help meet critical labour market needs and support Canada’s ambitious agenda for talent attraction.

• The Government recognises the role TFWs play in some sectors of the economy and in some parts of the country. To that end, the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan will consider industries and sectors impacted by tariffs and the unique needs of rural and remote communities.

• New student arrivals will decrease to 155,000 in 2026 and to 150,000 in 2027 and 2028, with students representing approximately 40% of new temporary resident arrivals.
Permanent Residents
• The economic class represents the largest proportion of PR admissions each year, reaching approximately 64% by 2027– the highest percentage in over a decade.

• The overall proportion of family class admissions will remain relatively stable, between 21.3-22.1% in order to support family reunification, a cornerstone of Canada’s tradition as a welcoming country.

• Canada will continue to be a global leader in refugee resettlement with 13% of overall admissions dedicated to these programs.

• An additional 16,900 admissions over three years will also be dedicated to fulfilling Canada’s humanitarian commitments (e.g., Sudan, Ukraine, Hong Kong), as well as for applications based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

• The 2026-2028 Levels Plan sets targets for French-speaking PR admissions at 9% of total admissions for 2026 (30,267), 9.5% (31,825) for 2027 and 10.5% (35,175) for 2028. These targets will support the broader goal of achieving 12% by 2029.

• Canada is on track to meet its 2025 target of 395,000 permanent resident admissions. Between January and August 2025, approximately 277,000 permanent residents have been admitted to Canada.

One-time Initiatives to Recalibrate our Immigration System

• As part of a broader recalibration effort to return our immigration system to sustainable levels, the Government is implementing one-time initiatives to streamline the transition of some individuals in Canada who are already on a pathway to permanent residence.

• The initiatives will focus on Protected Persons in Canada and some temporary workers on a pathway to permanent residency. These initiatives complement the broader objectives of the 2026–2028 Levels Plan and will help to restore control, clarity and consistency to the immigration system.

Protected Persons in Canada

• Protected persons have a recognized protected status in Canada and can reside in the country as long as they maintain this status. The Government will undertake a one-time initiative to streamline the transition of approximately 115,000 Protected Persons in Canada who are already on a pathway to permanent residence over the next two years (2026 and 2027).

• This practical step delivers on Canada’s international humanitarian obligations, and will help provide greater stability and accelerate their full integration into the Canadian society and their path to citizenship.

• This practical step is a reflection of the fact that these people cannot return to the country of their origin. Admissions under this initiative are in addition to the above PR admission targets.

In-Canada Workers

• The Government will also undertake a one-time measure to accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027.

• This initiative will target individuals who are already contributing to Canada’s economy across a wide range of in-demand sectors, including in rural areas with known labour gaps, acknowledging the strong roots in their communities and their contributions to Canada’s economy.

Economic Impacts of Immigration

• PRs admitted through federal economic pathways under Express Entry consistently demonstrate higher average earnings than the median Canadian employment earnings (source: IMDB, Statistics Canada).

• PRs admitted through regional economic immigration pathways – such as the Provincial Nominee Program, Atlantic Immigration Program, and the Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots – are selected by provinces, territories, and participating communities based on their ability to address specific local labour market needs. These programs fill critical labour market needs ensuring that the benefits of economic immigration are distributed across all regions of Canada.

• In 2024, core working age (25–54) immigrants (non-permanent residents (NPRs) and PRs) represented 35.4% of the Canadian labour force, and all labour force growth between 2023 and 2024 (source: LFS 2024).

• In 2024, immigrants (NPRs and PRs) of all ages represented:
o 23% of people working in construction;
o 40% of those working in professional, scientific and technical services;
o 44% of those working in the transportation and warehousing sector; and
o 43% of those working in accommodation and food services.

• Immigration plays an important role in healthcare—One in four healthcare sector workers are immigrants. Moreover, immigrants’ share in the healthcare sector is on par with their presence in the overall labour market.

• International students have a direct positive impact on the Canadian economy, including indirect support for jobs in the education sector, domestic tuition rates and domestic student opportunities (program choice and access to education facilities).

Levels Plan Development and Consultation

• The annual Immigration Levels Plan sets targets and ranges for each immigration category in line with the Government’s economic, social, and humanitarian priorities.

• To support the development of the 2026–2028 Levels Plan, IRCC analyzed updated demographic projections from Statistics Canada, including how the Levels Plan could affect workforce composition and regional labour supply.

• Macroeconomic modelling from other federal departments also contributed to the analysis, providing assessments of broader economic indicators – such as real GDP, GDP per capita, household formation, and labour force growth.

• Levels planning enables the Department and its partners to allocate resources appropriately for the review and management of applications and plan settlement supports.

• Each year, the Levels Plan is developed following extensive consultations, including engagement with provinces and territories (PTs), partners, stakeholders, and the public.

• More specifically, engagement includes:
o Provinces and Territories (PTs): Engagement with PTs is conducted bilaterally and multilaterally, guided by the Joint Federal-Provincial-Territorial Immigration Levels Consultation Framework, as approved through the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI).
o Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has responsibility for the selection of immigrants destined to the province (except Family Class and in-Canada refugee claimants). The Accord commits the federal government to take into consideration Quebec’s desired levels in all categories. Quebec’s immigration levels plan is established annually.

o Stakeholder consultations: The Department conducts an annual consultation survey, which is shared with key stakeholders (e.g., business representatives, educational institutions, multicultural or ethno-cultural associations, municipalities, urban planners, settlement or resettlement organizations, etc.).
o For the 2026–2028 Levels Plan, a total of 840 stakeholders and partner organizations completed the survey as well as 18,135 individual respondents.

o The Department also held thematic conversations with a number of stakeholders to explore key elements of the upcoming Levels Plan. Participants included urban planners, municipalities involved in welcoming newcomers, economists from Canadian banks, small and medium-sized businesses, Francophone organizations, as well as experts who shared insights on how Canada can strategically attract global talent.

o Indigenous peoples: IRCC prioritizes engagement with Indigenous peoples and makes efforts to increase response rates from Indigenous organizations.
o For the 2026–2028 Levels Plan, the Department invited 530 individuals from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit serving and/or representing organizations to provide feedback.

o Public opinion: While public opinion research shows that Canadians still believe that immigrants make important contributions to Canada's economy and society, the proportion of Canadians who believe there are too many immigrants coming to Canada has risen substantially over the last two years. In fall 2025, 56% of Canadians believe the country accepts too many immigrants. On the other hand, some employers, post-secondary institutions, and small/medium sized communities are calling for more immigrants to meet their specific regional, economic and labour needs.

2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan
Temporary Residents

Option 1 2025 2026 2027 2028
Overall Arrivals 673,650 385,000
(375,000 – 395,000) 370,000
(360,000 – 380,000) 370,000
(360,000 – 380,000)
Workers
(Total) 367,750 230,000 220,000 220,000
International Mobility Program (Includes work permits issued to crisis/humanitarian arrivals) 285,750 170,000 170,000 170,000
Temporary Foreign Worker Program 82,000 60,000 50,000 50,000
Students 305,900 155,000 150,000 150,000

Permanent Residents

2025    2026    2027    2028
Low Range  Target  High Range   Low Range  Target  High Range   Low Range  Target  High Range   Low Range  Target  High Range

Overall Admissions 395,000 380,000 380,000 380,000
367,000 436,000 350,000 420,000 350,000 420,000 350,000 420,000
Overall French-Speaking Admissions Outside Quebec 29,325 30,267 31,825 35,175
8.5% 9% 9.5% 10.5%
Federal High-Skilled 124,680 109,000 111,000 111,000
69,000 151,000 85,000 120,000 86,000 122,000 86,000 122,000
Federal Business 2,000 500 500 500
1,200 3,000 250 1,000 250 1,000 250 1,000
Federal Economic Pilots: Caregivers; Agri-Food; CIP; EMPP 10,920 8,175 8,775 8,775
6,000 14,800 5,000 11,800 6,600 12,400 6,600 12,400
Atlantic Immigration Program 5,000 4,000 4,000 4,000
4,000 7,000 3,000 5,000 3,000 5,000 3,000 5,000
Provincial Nominee Program 55,000 91,500 92,500 92,500
20,000 65,000 82,000 105,000 82,000 106,000 82,000 106,000
Quebec Skilled Workers and Business 34,500 26,625 27,925 27,925
33,000 50,000
Total Economic 232,150 239,800 244,700 244,700
215,000 256,000 224,000 264,000 229,000 268,000 229,000 268,000
Spouses, Partners, and Children 70,000 69,000 66,000 66,000
65,500 78,000 63,000 75,000 60,000 71,000 60,000 71,000
Parents and Grandparents 24,500 15,000 15,000 15,000
20,500 28,000 13,000 19,000 13,000 19,000 13,000 19,000
Total Family 94,500 84,000 81,000 81,000
88,500 102,000 78,500 92,000 75,000 90,000 75,000 90,000
Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000
18,000 30,000 17,000 30,000 17,000 30,000 17,000 30,000
Resettled Refugees - Government Assisted 15,250 13,250 13,250 13,250
13,000 17,000 10,000 15,500 10,000 15,500 10,000 15,500
Resettled Refugees - Blended Visa Office Referred 100 50 50 50
- 150 0 100 0 100 0 100
Resettled Refugees - Privately Sponsored 23,000 16,000 16,000 16,000
21,000 26,000 13,000 19,000 13,000 18,000 13,000 18,000
Total Refugees and Protected Persons 58,350 49,300 49,300 49,300
55,000 65,000 42,000 55,000 42,000 55,000 42,000 55,000
Humanitarian and Compassionate 10,000 1,100 1,000 1,000
8,500 13,000 1,000 3,000 700 2,900 700 2,900
Other - 5,800 4,000 4,000
- - 4,500 8,000 3,200 6,000 3,200 6,000
Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other 10,000 6,900 5,000 5,000
8,500 13,000 6,000 9,000 4,000 7,000 4,000 7,000

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