Canada unveils updated immigration plan with 380,000 permanent and 370,000 temporary admissions annually
The federal government announced a 2027-2029 immigration framework that maintains existing intake targets while offering permanent residency to up to 200,000 long-term temporary residents.
Ottawa said its 2027-2029 immigration levels plan will admit 380,000 permanent residents and 370,000 temporary residents each year, with the temporary quota split between 220,000 workers and 150,000 students. The targets for 2027 and 2028 match those set in the previous year’s plan, and more than 64 % of new permanent residents are expected to be economic immigrants, according to a departmental document.
The 2026 federal budget earmarks $151.5 million for reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, aiming to align it with regional labour-market needs, shorten processing times and improve employer compliance. The government indicated it will work with provinces and territories on the reforms, though detailed measures have not yet been released.
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Lena Diab said there are no immediate plans for a press conference on the changes. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne noted that labour-market pressures vary by region and sector, adding that the government seeks a “more bespoke” approach to support businesses that need temporary workers while avoiding pressure in areas with higher unemployment.
The plan also includes a pathway for up to 200,000 current temporary residents to obtain permanent status. Of these, 100,000 are expected to qualify through Express Entry or the Provincial Nominee Program, while another 100,000 will come from humanitarian programmes such as the Hong Kong permanent-residence route and the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway. The government aims to reduce the temporary-resident share of the population to five per cent by the end of 2027, down from a peak of 7.4 % in October 2024.
Additional measures announced include expanding permanent-residency slots in the Provincial Nominee Program, making the Rural Community Immigration Pilot permanent, and accelerating family-sponsorship processing toward a 12-month target.
Opposition critics have questioned the plan’s impact on housing affordability and labour markets. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner accused the government of structuring intake numbers to favour corporate interests and of not fully accounting for the new permanent-resident pathway in the overall target.
Prime Minister Mark Carney reiterated that immigration levels are now “under control,” citing declines in temporary worker and student inflows since 2024. The Bank of Canada, in a recent analysis, warned that an aging population, lower birth rates and slower immigration could slow overall population growth, which fell to 0.5 % in 2025—the slowest rate in more than a century.