Canada's Immigration Levels Plan 2026 – 2028

Under its Immigration Levels Plan, Canada currently expects to welcome 380,000 new immigrants a year in the coming years.

Canada’s immigration objectives are to strengthen the economy, reunite families and help refugees.

A summary of Canada’s immigration plan

Each year, the federal departmentImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)publishes a new Immigration Levels Plan which the department uses to guide its operations.

In 2026, Canada’s newcomer target is 380,000 new permanent residents (PRs) – which the country will seek to maintain over the next three years.

The following table summarises Canada’s immigration targets from 2026 to 2028 by immigration category:

Immigration category	2026	2027	2028
Economic	239,800	244,700	244,700
Family	84,000	81,000	81,000
Refugees, protected persons, humanitarian, compassionate and other	56,200	54,300	54,300
French-speaking admissions outside Quebec	30,267	31,825	35,175
Total	380,000	380,000	380,000

Temporary residence levels

As with last year’s Immigration Levels Plan, the 2026-2028 framework also includes projected landings for workers and international students over the next three years:

Temporary residence programme	2026	2027	2028
Overall levels	385,000	370,000	370,000
Workers (the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program (IMP))	230,000	220,000	220,000
Students	155,000	150,000	150,000

Why does Canada need immigrants?

Canada welcomes high immigration levels in order to keep its economy strong.

Canada has one of the oldest populations in the world and also one of the lowest birth rates in the world. This creates economic and fiscal pressure. Canada’s low rate of natural population growth leads to low labour force and economic growth rates. Low economic growth makes it difficult for Canada to raise the taxes needed to support social spending on services such as education, healthcare and the other important areas that provide the country’s high standard of living.

As a result, Canada has increased its immigration levels since the late 1980s in order to raise population, labour force and economic growth rates. Canada now depends on immigration for most of its population and labour force growth as well as much of its economic growth.

Consider that Canada will have 9 million baby boomers reaching the retirement age of 65 by 2030. This means that Canada will have fewer workers at a time when social spending on healthcare will rise. To ease this challenge, Canada has been proactive by gradually raising its immigration targets for more than 30 years now.

Canada has regularly welcomed more than 200,000 immigrants a year since 1988. Canada’s immigration rate is currently close to 1.2%. In other words, Canada welcomes three times as many immigrants per capita as the United States. Immigration will remain important in supporting a healthy economy and fiscal position in the country.

An overview of Canada’s immigration programmes

Economic immigration, which is the main driver of Canada’s economic growth, accounts for more than half the admissions projected under the multi-year levels plan.

Almost half of economic immigration is expected to be through the federalExpress Entrysystem programmes:

• The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)of Canada also plays an important role in economic immigration. This programme allows Canada’s provinces and territories to take part in nominating eligible immigration candidates matching local workforce needs for permanent residence.

The immigration programmes included in Canada’s multi-year Immigration Levels Plan are as follows:

Economic programmes

• The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP): this programme, managed through Express Entry, is for immigrants with the education, work experience, English or French proficiency and other skills needed to become economically established in Canada.
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP): the Federal Skilled Trades Program, managed through Express Entry, is for foreign workers qualified in a skilled trade.
• The Canadian Experience Class (CEC): the Canadian Experience Class is managed through the Express Entry system and welcomes expressions of interest from foreign workers with Canadian work experience or recent graduates of Canadian educational institutions who are working in Canada.
• The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP): the Atlantic Immigration Pilot allows designated employers in Atlantic Canada to recruit and hire skilled foreign workers or international graduates in the Atlantic Canada region (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).
• The Caregiver Program: Canada gives eligible foreign nationals caring for children and people with high medical needs the opportunity to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
• Federal business (the Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons Programs):
  The federal business programmes give foreign nationals meeting the eligibility requirements the opportunity to operate a new or existing business in Canada.
• The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): this programme allows provinces and territories to take part in nominating eligible economic immigration candidates for Canadian permanent residence. This route also has a section for candidates who are entrepreneurs and investors, who may take part in the PNP routes forinvestment immigration to Canadato become permanent residents.
• The Quebec Skilled Worker Program (SWSP)andKinh doanh Quebec: the province of Quebec operates its own immigration system alongside the federal system. The Government of Quebec’s projected levels for 2019 to 2021 have not been determined.

Family sponsorship programmes

• Spousal/common-law partner sponsorship
• Dependent child sponsorship
• The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)

Refugee and protected person, humanitarian and other programmes

• Protected persons in Canada and dependants abroad
• Privately sponsored refugees
• The Blended Visa Office-Referred programme
• Government-assisted refugees

Detailed updates on Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2026 – 2028 are on the government website athere.