Canada Immigration Levels Plan 2026-2028
The 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, tabled in November 2025, sets 2026 permanent resident admissions at 380,000 and new temporary resident arrivals at 385,000. It aims to bring temporary residents below 5 percent of the population. The 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan, published November 5, 2026, replaced its notional 2027 and 2028 figures: 380,000 permanent residents and 370,000 new temporary resident arrivals in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029.
380,000
Permanent residents targeted for 2026, and for each of 2027, 2028 and 2029
385,000
New temporary resident arrivals targeted for 2026
370,000
New temporary resident arrivals targeted for each of 2027, 2028 and 2029
Below 5 percent
The goal for temporary residents’ share of Canada’s population
What is the Immigration Levels Plan?
Each year the federal government tables an Immigration Levels Plan that sets out how many new permanent residents Canada aims to admit, broken down by category such as economic, family, and refugee or humanitarian. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Minister presents this plan to Parliament. The plan guides how many applications IRCC processes and approves across its various programs during the year.
The 2026-2028 plan is a multi-year plan covering three calendar years. Continuing a shift that began with the 2025-2027 plan, it includes targets for temporary residents (international students and temporary workers) rather than focusing on permanent residents alone. Temporary residents make up a large share of recent population growth, and the government has said it wants that share to come down.
A target is a planning figure, not a guarantee or a quota you can claim. Admissions in any given year can land slightly above or below target, and the government can revise future-year numbers in later plans, as the 2027-2029 plan did for 2027 and 2028. The plan does not change the eligibility rules for any specific program.
How many permanent residents does each plan target?
The 2026-2028 plan set permanent resident admissions at roughly 380,000 for each of 2026, 2027 and 2028. That is a deliberate plateau after several years of higher targets, and lower than the levels planned in the 2024-2026 plan. IRCC describes the aim as a return to sustainable immigration levels.
| Category | 2026 (2026-2028 plan) | Each of 2027, 2028 and 2029 (2027-2029 plan) |
|---|---|---|
| All permanent residents | 380,000 (350,000 to 420,000) | 380,000 (352,500 to 422,000) |
| Economic | 239,800 | 244,700 (230,000 to 270,000) |
| Express Entry (Federal High Skilled) | 109,000 | 100,000 |
| Provincial Nominee Program | 91,500 | 95,000 |
| Family class | 84,000 | 81,000 (76,000 to 89,000) |
| Refugees and protected persons | 49,300 | 49,300 |
| Humanitarian and other | The remainder | 5,000 |
IRCC states that the economic category is 64.4 percent and family class 21.3 percent of admissions across all three years of the 2027-2029 plan. It says that plan’s 2028 and 2029 figures are notional and will be confirmed or adjusted (Supplementary Information for the 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan, November 5, 2026).
A notable emphasis is on transitions from temporary to permanent status, sometimes called ‘in-Canada’ admissions, meaning people already living, studying, or working in Canada who become permanent residents. The plan signals that a large portion of economic admissions will come from people already in Canada. It includes a commitment to help up to about 33,000 temporary workers transition to permanent residence in 2026 and 2027.
The rule
The 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan sets permanent resident admissions at 380,000 for each of 2027, 2028 and 2029.
What are the temporary resident targets?
For only the second year, the plan sets explicit targets for temporary residents, covering both international students and temporary workers. This is a sharp reduction compared with recent intake. It reflects the government’s stated aim of slowing temporary migration.
| Group | 2026 (2026-2028 plan) | Each of 2027, 2028 and 2029 (2027-2029 plan) |
|---|---|---|
| All new temporary resident arrivals | 385,000 | 370,000 (355,000 to 385,000) |
| Students | 155,000 | 150,000 |
| Workers | 230,000 | 220,000 |
| Workers through the International Mobility Program | 170,000 | 170,000 |
| Workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program | 60,000 | 50,000 |
These numbers count new arrivals, not permits issued. The 155,000 student figure is new arriving students only, which is why it sits well below the 408,000 study permits IRCC expects to issue in 2026 (that larger number also covers 253,000 extensions for students already here).
What is the under-5-percent goal for temporary residents?
A central commitment in the plan is to reduce the share of temporary residents (also called non-permanent residents) in Canada’s total population. The government’s stated goal is to bring this share below 5 percent. Independent analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Officer has noted that the non-permanent resident share peaked around 7.6 percent in 2024 and projects it falling to just under 5 percent by around the end of 2027 under the plan.
The government plans to reach this in two ways: by admitting fewer new temporary residents, and by transitioning a portion of those already here to permanent residence or having others depart as their status ends. The lower permanent resident targets and the lower temporary targets are therefore linked, both pointing toward slower overall population growth from immigration.
This is a policy goal expressed as a percentage of population, not a hard cap that applies to any individual. For the most current statements of the goal and the underlying population figures, rely on canada.ca and Statistics Canada.
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What do people ask?
What is Canada's immigration levels plan?
It is the federal plan for how many new permanent residents Canada aims to admit each year, split by category, over the next three years. IRPA s.94 requires the Minister to table an annual report to Parliament that includes the number projected to become permanent residents the following year. The 2026-2028 plan was tabled in November 2025, and IRCC published the 2027-2029 plan on November 5, 2026. The IRPA s.94 page gives the text of that duty.
How many immigrants does Canada take a year?
For 2026, the 2026-2028 plan targets 380,000 new permanent residents, within a planned range of 350,000 to 420,000, and 385,000 new temporary resident arrivals. The 2027-2029 plan, published November 5, 2026, targets 380,000 new permanent residents (352,500 to 422,000) and 370,000 new temporary resident arrivals in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029; its 2028 and 2029 figures are notional. Targets are planning figures, and later plans can revise them. The Canada Immigration in 2026 guide covers what else changed this year.
Is there a Canada PR quota?
The plan sets targets by category, not a quota any one person can claim. For 2026 it plans 239,800 economic admissions, 84,000 family class and 49,300 refugees and protected persons. Within the economic class, Express Entry (Federal High Skilled) is planned at 109,000 and the Provincial Nominee Program at 91,500. Your own chance still depends on the program's rules. The Express Entry draw tracker shows how many people each round invites.
What are the temporary resident targets for 2026?
New temporary resident arrivals are targeted at 385,000 in 2026: 155,000 students and 230,000 workers (170,000 through the International Mobility Program and 60,000 through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program). These count new arrivals, not permits issued, which is why the student figure sits well below the 408,000 study permits IRCC expects to issue in 2026. The Study in Canada guide explains the study permit cap.
What is the goal to reduce temporary residents below 5 percent?
The government has committed to lowering the share of temporary residents, also called non-permanent residents, to below 5 percent of Canada's population. The Parliamentary Budget Officer noted that this share peaked around 7.6 percent in 2024 and projects it falling just under 5 percent by around the end of 2027 under the plan. It is a population goal, not a cap on any person. The Canada Immigration in 2026 guide covers the permit changes behind it.
Is most immigration to Canada now economic?
Yes. Economic admissions are targeted at 239,800 in 2026, and the 2027-2029 plan sets 244,700 in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029, which IRCC says is 64.4 percent of permanent resident admissions in each of those years. Family class is targeted at 84,000 in 2026 and 81,000 in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029. Refugees and protected persons are planned at 49,300 a year. The Express Entry guide explains the main economic route.
Does the plan favour people already in Canada?
It puts weight on transitions from temporary to permanent status, meaning people already studying or working in Canada who become permanent residents. The plan includes a commitment to help up to about 33,000 temporary workers move to permanent residence in 2026 and 2027, under specific criteria. The rules of each program still apply. The guide Study Permit to PR shows how students make that move.
Does the levels plan change the rules of any program?
No. The levels plan sets overall targets and direction, and it leaves each program's eligibility rules as they are. Whether you are invited, and when, depends on the program's own criteria and on factors such as your Comprehensive Ranking System score, not directly on the plan totals. The Program Finder lists each pathway with its published criteria.
Part of:Immigrating permanently
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The economic and family pathways to permanent residence, explained from the published criteria.
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This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.