Canada plans to welcome up to 622,000 new permanent residents by 2027 under the new immigration plan

Canada plans to welcome up to 622,000 new permanent residents by the end of 2027, combining its regular immigration intake with a special programme to help temporary residents already in the country obtain permanent residence.

The figures were announced today, through the federal government's Budget 2026 and its 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan.

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Under Budget 2026, the government plans to transition up to 200,000 temporary residents living in Canada to permanent residency by the end of 2027. Of these places, 100,000 will be reserved for skilled workers through the Express Entry system and the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP), in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments.

Separately, the Immigration Levels Plan sets a maximum target of 422,000 permanent resident admissions for 2027. This takes the potential number of new permanent residents under the two measures to 622,000.

The government is also continuing two one-time initiatives announced last year, which aim to grant permanent residence to up to 148,000 protected individuals and workers already living in Canada during 2026 and 2027.

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These include 115,000 protected individuals and 33,000 workers. However, the latest plan does not specify how many places under these initiatives remain to be filled.

Government figures show that Canada welcomed 46,330 permanent residents under the two initiatives between January and August 2026. This suggests that around 100,000 people could still receive permanent residence through these measures between September 2026 and December 2027.

Canada's permanent residence targets for 2027–2029

For 2027, 2028 and 2029, the government has set the same midpoint target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions each year, with an annual range of 352,500 to 422,000.

The annual midpoint target of 380,000 is divided into four categories:

Economic immigration: 244,700

Family reunification: 81,000

Refugees and protected persons: 49,300

Humanitarian and compassionate grounds and other categories: 5,000

The government also plans to increase the proportion of French-speaking permanent residents admitted outside Quebec. The target is 9.5 per cent in 2027, rising to 10.5 per cent in 2028 and 12 per cent in 2029.

Temporary resident targets for 2027

The Immigration Levels Plan sets a target of 370,000 temporary resident admissions in 2027, including 220,000 temporary foreign workers and 150,000 international students.

Of the work permit allocation, 50,000 places are for workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP). Employers hiring through this programme must generally obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to demonstrate that no qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available for the job.

The remaining 170,000 work permits are allocated to the International Mobility Programme (IMP), which allows eligible foreign workers to obtain permits without an LMIA.

The government has maintained the same temporary resident targets for 2028 and 2029. The 2027 targets also match the provisional figures announced in November 2025 under the previous 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan.