Canada will offer its provinces and territories extra space to move up to 100,000 workers already living in the country to permanent residence in 2027, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said on Thursday 12 November 2026. The workers, along with their families, are already contributing to key industries and supporting economic development in communities of all sizes, the minister said in Dieppe, New Brunswick.

The announcement gives more detail on a time-limited measure first set out in Budget 2026, tabled on 5 November alongside the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan. Under the measure, provinces and territories will be offered additional allocations under the Provincial Nominee Program, and will be able to choose how much of the extra space they use to nominate workers who are established in their communities and meeting local labour market needs.

Allocations to be used by March 2027

The additional allocations are intended to be used by 31 March 2027, to support the transition of workers and their families to permanent residence during 2027. Provincial and territorial governments will also be able to identify workers in their jurisdictions who have already applied for permanent residence and are awaiting a decision, including through the Atlantic Immigration Program and federal programmes and pilots that are now closed to new applications, such as the Start-up Visa Program, the Self-Employed Persons Program, the Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programmes.

“Communities across the country benefit each and every day from the contributions of workers — both Canadians and those who have chosen Canada,” Metlege Diab said. “Our government understands that by retaining high-value, established workers, we can support economic growth and help our businesses thrive. With the new time-limited measure presented alongside our sustainable Immigration Levels Plan, we will work closely with provinces and territories to provide certainty and stability to even more employers, workers, and families right across Canada.”

Part of a wider 200,000-person measure

The workers’ stream is one half of a wider time-limited measure covering up to 200,000 people already living in Canada. The second half is a humanitarian stream for people who have waited years for a decision, including applicants under the Hong Kong permanent residence pathways, which closed to new applicants on 31 August 2026, and the Ukraine family reunification pathway. The government has said it aims to finalise all remaining applications under the Hong Kong pathways by the end of 2027, with space for up to 32,000 additional admissions for Hongkongers above the levels plan targets.

The measure also provides for up to 45,000 spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Canada to obtain permanent residence. Budget 2026 puts 302.3 million dollars over four years behind the measure, starting in 2027–28, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada backgrounder published with the levels plan.

The government has stressed that the measure does not create new immigration programmes and does not reopen pathways that have closed to new applications. It is aimed at people who are already in Canada, and officials say that by helping provinces retain workers already established in their communities, it will help employers maintain access to skilled talent and support communities facing labour shortages without adding significant new pressure on housing and community infrastructure.

What applicants most want to know is still missing. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not yet published eligibility criteria for either stream, has not said whether people will need to submit a new application or will be selected from existing inventories, and has not given an opening date or a step-by-step process. The overall levels plan keeps Canada’s permanent resident target at 380,000 a year for 2027, 2028 and 2029, while shifting the mix towards people already in the country.

Sources: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, The Nigerian News