The federal government has set its sights on admitting up to 622,000 new permanent residents by the close of 2027. Both Budget 2026 and the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan were tabled on November 5, 2026, and together they produce that number.
Breaking Down the 622,000 Total
Budget 2026 lays out measures to transition as many as 200,000 temporary residents already in Canada to permanent status by the end of 2027. The government refers to these as the 2027 TR-to-PR transition measures, or 2027 TPTMs. Details are available in the Budget 2026 documents.
The 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan, released the same day, caps new permanent resident admissions for 2027 at 422,000 at the top of its range. Combine that ceiling with the 200,000 transition spaces and the result is 622,000.
Half of the Transition Spaces Go to Skilled Workers
The Budget reserves 100,000 of the 200,000 TPTM spaces for skilled workers. These candidates will be selected through Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), with provinces and territories taking part in the process.
Unfinished Business From the 2026-2027 One-Time Initiatives
The Plan signals that Ottawa still intends to welcome the remaining permanent residents promised under the two 2026–2027 one-time initiatives (OTIs). Those initiatives, announced last year, set aside 148,000 admissions: up to 115,000 for protected persons and 33,000 for workers already in Canada.
How many of those spaces are still unfilled is not stated in the Plan. The government’s permanent residence data offers a partial picture. From January to August 2026, 46,330 people became permanent residents through the OTIs, which leaves roughly 100,000 protected persons and skilled workers still to be admitted between September 2026 and December 2027, a span of 16 months.
Two questions remain open. Neither the Plan nor the Budget clarifies whether these leftover OTI admissions fall within the 200,000 TPTM spaces. Nor do they say whether the admissions would be added on top of the 622,000 figure.
Permanent Resident Targets for 2027 to 2029
For 2028 and 2029, the Plan keeps the 2027 ranges and midpoints unchanged.
| Permanent Resident Admissions | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected PR admissions | 380,000 (352,500–422,000) |
380,000 (352,500–422,000) |
380,000 (352,500–422,000) |
The 380,000 midpoint in each year is distributed across immigration categories as follows:
French-speaking immigration outside Quebec also gets a larger share over time. The Plan sets the target at 9.5% of all PR admissions in 2027, then 10.5% in 2028 and 12% in 2029.
Temporary Resident Admissions in 2027
The Plan puts temporary resident admissions for 2027 at 370,000. Foreign workers account for 220,000 of those spaces, and international students for the other 150,000.
Within the worker allocation, 50,000 permits fall under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Employers hiring through this program need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to demonstrate that no qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident was available for the job.
The remaining 170,000 permits are issued under the International Mobility Program (IMP), which does not require an LMIA.
The same targets carry over to 2028 and 2029. They also match the notional 2027 figures from the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which the government published in November 2025.
The federal government has set its sights on admitting up to 622,000 new permanent residents by the close of 2027. Both Budget 2026 and the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan were tabled on November 5, 2026, and together they produce that number.
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Legal Advisory: This article is published for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. It is based on figures from Budget 2026 and the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan as of November 5, 2026. Immigration levels, targets and program rules are set by the Government of Canada and may change without notice. Publication of these targets does not guarantee that any pathway will open or that any application will be approved. Eligibility and outcomes depend on each applicant’s individual circumstances and on the requirements in force at the time of application. Please refer to the official Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website for current information, or consult a licensed immigration professional before making decisions about your case. Neximm Immigration accepts no liability for actions taken in reliance on this article.