Canada plans to move up to 200,000 temporary residents already living in the country to permanent residency by the end of 2027, under proposals in the federal Budget 2026 tabled on 5 November.

Who the measure covers

The one-time measure would cover two groups of up to 100,000 people each. The first group is workers eligible through Express Entry or a Provincial Nominee Program, while the second covers people with long-waiting humanitarian applications, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The government has set aside $302.3 million over four years from 2027-28 to run the measure, with a further $90.6 million in later years.

Annual targets held steady

Alongside the measure, the 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan keeps annual permanent resident admissions at 380,000 and new temporary resident arrivals at 370,000 in each of the three years. The temporary arrivals target covers about 220,000 workers and 150,000 international students a year. The 200,000 transitions sit outside the 380,000 annual target, so 2027 could see up to 580,000 new permanent residents at the midpoint target, or up to 622,000 at the top of the range.

Details still to come

The government has not yet published full eligibility criteria, application procedures or a list of qualifying occupations, and the measure is not a new permanent pathway. Further details are expected when the immigration minister tables the 2026 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government says the shift prioritises people already in Canada, where the non-permanent resident population had fallen to under 2.8 million by 1 July after peaking at nearly three million in October 2024.