Analysis of the 2026-2028 immigration plan

Under the 2026-2028 immigration plan, the Canadian federal government has increased the number of permanent resident spots under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), while reducing the scale of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Detailed article on the Canada 2026–2028 immigration levels plan.

Overview of the 2026-2028 immigration plan

In 2026, Canada expects to accept 91,500 permanent residents through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), an increase of 66% compared to the previous target of 55,000.

The 2026 immigration plan target for workers under Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has been set at 60,000, down from the 82,000 target of the previous plan.

On the other hand, the projected arrival target in 2026 for work permits through International Mobility Program (IMP) has been set at 170,000, an increase of 32% compared to the 128,700 target in last year’s Plan.

The latest immigration plan has significantly reduced the total temporary resident arrival target, primarily through a nearly 50% cut to the annual target for international student arrivals, which is set at 155,000 for 2026, down from the 305,900 target of the previous Plan.

Annual temporary resident immigration plan target

Item	2026 (current plan)	2025	2026 (previous plan)
Workers	230,000	367,750	210,700
International graduates	155,000	305,900	305,900
Total	385,000	673,650	516,600

These changes were announced in the 2026-2028 Immigration Plan, which sets permanent and temporary resident arrival targets for the upcoming year, along with provisional targets for the following two years.

Continuing on the trajectory of reducing the temporary resident population, the government has established the following annual arrival targets for temporary residency:

Item	2026	2027	2028
Workers – International Mobility Program (IMP)	170,000	170,000	170,000
Workers – Temporary Foreign Worker Program	60,000	50,000	50,000
Total workers	230,000	220,000	220,000
International graduates	155,000	150,000	150,000
Total temporary residency	385,000	370,000	370,000

These temporary residency targets are significantly lower than those established in last year’s Plan, but are not significantly different from the actual arrival numbers seen throughout 2025, in which international student arrivals decreased by 70% compared to last year, and foreign temporary worker arrivals decreased by 50%.

The high-level target for permanent resident arrivals for 2026 remains largely unchanged from those in last year’s Plan:

Item	2026 (current plan)	2025	2026 (previous plan)
Economy	239,800	232,150	229,750
Family reunification	84,000	94,500	88,000
Refugee and humanitarian	56,200	68,350	62,250
Total	380,000	395,000	380,000

Furthermore, the most recent immigration plan envisions only nominal changes in the annual high-level permanent resident arrival targets from 2026 to 2028:

Item	2026	2027	2028
Economy	239,800	244,700	244,700
Family reunification	84,000	81,000	81,000
Refugee and humanitarian	56,200	54,300	54,300
Total	380,000	380,000	380,000
French-speaking admissions outside Quebec	9% (30.267)	9,5% (31.825)	10,5% (35.175)

Provincial Nominee Programme

The federal government has significantly expanded Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) its immigration plan this year compared to last year, increasing the target to 91,500 permanent resident arrivals.

For foreign nationals seeking permanent residency, the increase in the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) is good news for those in several situations:

• Provincial nominee candidates currently being considered in the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) expression of interest (EOI) pool who have not yet been invited to apply for a nomination.
• Foreign nationals lacking a score The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) high enough to meet the projected CRS cut-off for draws under Express Entry.
• Foreign nationals ineligible for Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
• Foreign nationals working in low-skilled occupations (TEER TEER 4 or 5).
• Foreign nationals seeking permanent residency as business owners rather than employees (for Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) streams with investment and entrepreneur components).

The increase also has the potential to help foreign nationals intending to reside in a province where the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) excluded their job or occupation from eligibility in 2024 in response to reduced allocations, as there is a chance that with higher allocations, the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) may expand eligibility.

The Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP), through which provinces and territories can nominate foreign nationals for permanent residency, was the biggest casualty in last year’s Plan, which cut the 2025 landing target from 120,000 to 55,000.

Following the landing target cuts, the federal government cut Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) nomination allocations by 50% across the board in January 2025, only to backtrack as the year progressed, eventually increasing allocations for all Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) streams except for Ontario and PEI.

The increase in the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) under Prime Minister Mark Carney and Immigration Minister Lena Diab marks a significant departure from the previous policy under Justin Trudeau and Mark Miller, who, in their October 2024 Immigration Plan announcement, criticised provinces for allegedly mismanaging their Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) in the preceding few years.

work permit

This year’s plan has increased high-level entry targets for work permits even while downsizing Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), by increasing landing targets for temporary foreign workers granted work permits through the International Mobility Programme (IMP).

While the annual entry target for the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) for 2026 drops to 60,000, down from 82,000, the annual entry target for the International Mobility Programme (IMP) for 2026 rises to 170,000, up from 128,700.

The cuts to the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) mean reduced flexibility for employers and fewer options for foreign nationals whose Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is about to expire, and for many mid-career skilled foreign nationals seeking to move to Canada on a work permit from abroad.

This is because the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) is a universal, all-encompassing work permit programme, whereas International Mobility Programme (IMP) work permits have more specific criteria, granted only to foreign nationals who fall into certain situations.

All work permits in Canada fall under either the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) or the International Mobility Programme (IMP), between which there is a key difference:

Programme	Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) required?	Programme mandate	Who is eligible?
Temporary Foreign Worker Program	Yes	Economic, employer-led	Any eligible foreign national
International Mobility Program (IMP)	No	Economic and cultural	Foreign nationals in specific situations only

The Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) is designed to allow employers to hire foreign workers to fill vacant positions for which no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available. Consequently, all Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) work permits require the employer to have received a a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) positive or neutral from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Any eligible foreign national can receive a Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) work permit for almost any occupation and employer in Canada.

All Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) work permits are closed, and are restricted to the employer and position on the work permit.

Due to the general nature of the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP), the government can do little to control the number of Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) work permits issued, provided the employer can obtain a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

As we can see in the 2024 policy changes, where the action the government took to reduce Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) work permits was to raise the salary threshold for the high-wage stream, and issue a ban on all low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) in regions with an unemployment rate >6%.

The International Mobility Programme (IMP), by contrast, incorporates as part of its mandate both cultural and economic contributions to Canada. For example, the International Mobility Programme (IMP) includes International Experience Canada (IEC), a programme under which youth from countries with bilateral mobility agreements with Canada can receive work permits. In return, Canadian youth are offered similar opportunities in member countries.

The International Mobility Programme (IMP) also includes Bridging Open Work Permits (BOWP), granted to foreign nationals with work status in Canada who have applied for permanent residency, and Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWP), granted to the spouse of an individual holding primary status in Canada.

The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is another leading open work permit under the International Mobility Programme (IMP), providing international graduates the opportunity to live and work in Canada after graduation.

International Mobility Programme (IMP) work permits are exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

The International Mobility Programme (IMP) includes both closed work permits, tied to a specific employer and occupation, as well as open work permits, not tied to any employer, which allow the holder to work for most employers in most occupations in Canada.

The International Mobility Programme (IMP) gives the federal government more control over which foreign nationals receive work permits, as the government can keep International Mobility Programme (IMP) work permit streams open while adjusting their eligibility to control the supply of work permits—for example, the recent tightening of requirements for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) and Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWPs), which the government intends to result in 325,000 fewer work permits issued over the next three-year period.

Reducing temporary residency

This year’s plan sets out a major reduction in temporary residence entry targets compared to last year’s Plan.

The government is tightening further in an effort to reduce the number of temporary residents as a percentage of the Canadian population to 5% by the end of 2027.

Throughout 2025, we have seen the success of government policy, as population growth has stalled, and temporary residence entries have dropped by 50% or more compared to 2024.

Policy changes driving the reduction in temporary residence

During 2024, the government introduced a number of policy changes aimed at reducing the level of temporary residence:

• A cap on study permit applications.
• Removal of Post-Graduation Work Permit eligibility for graduates of post-secondary programmes delivered through curriculum licensing arrangements.
• Restricting eligibility for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) by adding language proficiency requirements and field-of-study requirements for non-exempt programmes.
• Restricting eligibility for Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWP) for international students to spouses of students in doctoral programmes, master’s programmes of 16 months or longer, and certain professional programmes such as engineering, nursing, and dentistry.
• Restrict eligibility for open work permits for spouses to spouses of foreign temporary workers in the highest-skilled occupations or in specific in-demand medium-skilled occupations.
• Implement a moratorium on processing Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) under the low-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker programme in regions with 6% unemployment or higher.

Many of these policy changes are expected to take years to have their full impact on temporary residence levels.

For example, the reduction in study permits will eventually lead to a decrease in Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders, but it may take years to have a full impact, as international students may enrol in four-year study programmes, meaning the reduction in study permits in 2025 may only see its full impact on work permit issuance starting in 2029.

Other changes will see a faster impact: the moratorium on low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) prevents the renewal of all expiring work permits in the affected regions. Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) work permits are typically issued for one to two years.

About the Immigration Levels Plan

The immigration plan forms part of the annual report to Parliament on immigration, and must be presented on or before 1 November each year.

The plan each year sets out immigration targets for the upcoming year, and temporary targets for the following two years.

Last year’s plan was the first to include targets for temporary residence – specifically, international students and foreign workers.

Not all temporary residents are included in the Plan: the Plan excludes tourists, visitors, seasonal workers, and refugees from consideration.

Analysis of the immigration plan compared to last year

2026 Targets

Item	2026-2028 Plan	2025 – 2027 Plan
Permanent resident levels
Federal High Skilled	109,000	124,590
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)	91,500	55,000
Federal Economic Pilot Programmes	8,175	9,920
Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programme (AIPP)	4,000	5,000
Federal Business	500	1,000
Temporary residence levels
International Mobility Program (IMP)	170,000	128,700
Temporary Foreign Worker Program	60,000	82,000
Total workers	230,000	210,700
International graduates	155,000	305,900

2027 Targets

Item	2026-2028 Plan	2025 – 2027 Plan
Permanent resident levels
Federal High Skilled	111,000	118,730
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)	92,500	55,000
Federal Economic Pilot Programmes	8,775	9,920
Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programme (AIPP)	4,000	5,000
Federal Business	500	1,000
Temporary residence levels
International Mobility Program (IMP)	170,000	155,700
Temporary Foreign Worker Program	50,000	82,000
Total workers	220,000	237,700
International graduates	150,000	305,900