The Canadian government has introduced its new immigration plan for 2026–2028 as part of Budget 2025. It includes major adjustments to how many people can enter or stay in Canada as temporary or permanent residents.

1. New Pathway for Temporary Residents to Get PR

• Between 2026 and 2027, up to 33,000 people who currently hold work permits will be able to apply for and receive Permanent Resident (PR) status through a new transition program.
• This is designed to help qualified workers already in Canada stay permanently without reapplying from outside the country.

2. Lower Targets for Temporary Residents (Work, Study, and Visitors)

The government is planning significant cuts to temporary resident admissions in 2026 compared to 2025:

• Total temporary residents: 385,000 in 2026 (down 43% from 673,650 in 2025)
• International students: 155,000 in 2026 (down 49% from 305,900 in 2025)
• Temporary foreign workers: 230,000 in 2026 (down 37% from 367,750 in 2025)

Although these numbers look like a big drop, the government says that 2025 admissions were already far below the original targets. For example:

• Only 89,430 international students entered Canada between January and August 2025 — just 29% of the 2025 goal.
• Only 154,515 temporary foreign workers were admitted in the same period, 42% of the target.

So in practice, 2026 might not feel like a drastic change, since recent figures were already low.

3. Focused Work Permit Programs

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team say they will make the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) more “targeted.”

• It will focus on specific industries and regions that truly need foreign workers (for example, agriculture, healthcare, or construction in rural areas).
• The International Mobility Program (IMP) — which includes open work permits and intra-company transferees — will likely continue to issue most of Canada’s work permits.

In 2025, the breakdown was:

• 285,750 under IMP
• 82,000 under TFWP

For 2026, the total number of work permit holders (both programs) is expected to be 230,000, which is still higher than what was planned in the previous immigration plan (210,700).

4. Permanent Resident Admissions

The target number of new permanent residents for 2026 remains the same as before — 380,000.
Here’s how those spots will be divided:

• Economic immigration (skilled workers, Express Entry, PNP, etc.): 239,800 (up slightly from last year’s 229,750)
• Family sponsorship: 84,000 (down from 88,000)
• Refugees and humanitarian: 56,200 (down from 62,250)

The government will also continue granting PR to Protected Persons already in Canada over the next two years.

5. Overall Direction

The federal government is shifting its focus from bringing in temporary residents toward providing more stable, permanent pathways for those already in Canada.
It also plans to support rural and remote communities and sectors affected by economic changes, trade tariffs, or labor shortages.

The detailed Immigration Levels Plan and further announcements will come when the Minister of Immigration presents the 2025 Annual Report to Parliament.