Canada’s 2026–2028 immigration levels: what the numbers mean

What the 2026-2028 plan actually sets

Every year, IRCC publishes a multi-year Immigration Levels Plan setting permanent resident admission targets. The 2026-2028 plan holds that target steady at 380,000 permanent resident admissions in each of 2026, 2027, and 2028, rather than increasing it year over year as earlier plans often did. The stated purpose is to ease pressure on housing, infrastructure, and public services while still supporting economic and labour market needs.

How the mix of admission categories is shifting

Within that flat 380,000 total, the internal mix is shifting. Economic-class admissions, driven mainly by Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program, are set to make up roughly 64 percent of total admissions by 2027-2028. Family-class sponsorship is projected to stay relatively stable at around 21 to 22 percent, and humanitarian and refugee admissions are expected to remain around 13 percent.

Temporary residents and the push to convert status inside Canada

The plan also aims to reduce temporary resident arrivals to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028, with a goal of bringing the temporary resident population below 5 percent of Canada's population by 2027. It introduces two one-time initiatives intended to transition roughly 148,000 people already in Canada on a temporary basis into permanent status over 2026 and 2027, which signals that in-Canada transition pathways may be comparatively favourable over the next couple of years.

What this means if you are planning an application

A flat overall PR target combined with a shifting internal mix generally means continued strong competition within individual streams, particularly in the economic class where most admissions are concentrated. Anyone with an application in the queue, or planning to submit one, should treat the levels plan as context for how much overall room exists rather than a prediction of their own processing time, and should check the current year's supplementary information on canada.ca before making decisions based on any specific figure.