Notice – Supplementary Information for the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan

October 24, 2024 – Ottawa – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is pleased to release details on the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan (Levels Plan). The Levels Plan includes permanent resident targets and ranges under immigration categories of Economic, Family, Refugees and Protected Persons, and Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other. The 2025-2027 Levels Plan also includes, for the first time, temporary resident targets for international students and temporary foreign workers, constituting a new holistic approach to managed migration. Temporary and permanent residents play a key role in supporting economic growth, addressing labour market shortages, and contributing to the diversity of communities across Canada, including Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec.

In recent years, Canada welcomed newcomers to support our economy and address labour market needs. As we move away from post-pandemic measures, there is a need to better align temporary and permanent resident immigration levels with community capacity. The 2025-27 Levels Plan adopts a whole-of-society approach to be responsive to needs of newcomers and Canadians, including through consultations with federal departments and agencies, provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, communities and Canadians.

To ensure a well-managed migration system the Government is reducing the share of temporary residents to 5% of the total population by the end of 2026. A series of measures have been announced over the course of the past year to achieve this goal, including an intake cap on most study permit applications and an amended cost of living requirement for students, eligibility changes to Post-Graduation Work Permits and to work permits issued to the spouses of international students and foreign workers under both the International Mobility Program (IMP) and Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program. Additional measures applied to the low-wage stream of the TFW Program were also recently introduced to better align the program with current labour market conditions.

In keeping with these reductions, targets for new temporary resident arrivals are set at 673,650 in 2025, 516,600 in 2026, and 543,600 in 2027. These figures represent work and study permits issued to new arrivals to Canada. The target in 2025 for international students reflects the previously announced study permit cap (new arrivals only), and represents 45% of overall new temporary resident arrivals. In 2026 and 2027, international students make up the majority of temporary resident arrivals at 59% and 56% respectively, while the remainder of the arrivals will be allocated to temporary workers under both the IMP and TFW Program. These targets support the needs of our labour market and Canadian employers, especially in sectors that rely on temporary workers.

Targets for temporary and permanent residents have been developed in tandem. It is anticipated that more than 40% of overall permanent resident admissions in 2025 will be students or workers already in Canada.

The 2025-27 Levels Plan projects a decrease in overall permanent resident admissions to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. Supporting the Canadian economy continues to be a key priority of this Levels Plan as the economic category represents the largest proportion of admissions each year, reaching nearly 62% by 2027. A greater share of economic admissions are allocated under “Federal Economic Priorities” to skilled workers with a focus on critical sectors, such as health care and skilled trades, in recognition of the importance of supporting these sectors. An emphasis is also put on ensuring that admissions are dedicated to facilitating transition to permanent residence for those who are already in Canada as students and workers, under the “in-Canada focus”. Support for family reunification continues through the family category, which maintains a rate of 22% of overall permanent resident admissions. Canada’s strong and proud tradition of offering protection to those most in need is evident through the sustained targets for Government Assisted Refugees, which contributes to the resettled refugees and protected persons category rate of 15% of overall permanent resident admissions. 21,200 admissions are provided to commitments made on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and/or as part of public policies by the Minister of IRC over three years. In line with IRCC’s 2024 Policy on Francophone Immigration, the Levels Plan includes higher proportions of French-speaking permanent resident targets outside Quebec of 8.5% in 2025, 9.5% in 2026, and 10% in 2027 (in comparison with the 2024-2026 Levels Plan targets of 7% and 8% in 2025-2026) of overall permanent resident admissions, which improves demographic representation across Canada.

2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan

Temporary Residents
	2025	2026^{Footnote 1}	2027
Overall Arrivals^{Footnote 2}	673,650 (604,900 - 742,400)^{Footnote 3}	516,600 (435,250 - 597,950)	543,600 (472,900 - 614,250)
Workers (Total)	367,750	210,700	237,700
International Mobility Program^{Footnote 4}	285,750	128,700	155,700
Temporary Foreign Worker Program ^{Footnote 5} ^{Footnote 6} ^{Footnote 7}	82,000	82,000	82,000
Students ^{Footnote 8}	305,900	305,900	305,900

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Notional targets and ranges for 2026 and 2027 will be confirmed or adjusted by November 1 of each year.

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Footnote 2

Targets for temporary residents include new arrivals under one of the temporary worker programs (i.e., the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFW Program) and the International Mobility Program (IMP)), as well new arrivals under the International Student Program (ISP). Targets are not set for visitors arriving with temporary resident visas or electronic travel authorizations (eTAs), permit extensions, in-Canada study/work permit applications and asylum claimants. Asylum claimant volumes and in-Canada study/work permit applications are included in the overall methodology and calculations to reach the 5% target.

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Footnote 3

Ranges reflect differing distributions of permit expirations and other outflow factors.

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Footnote 4

The IMP is comprised of a collection of streams that do not require Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA), including work permits issued in accordance with agreements with partner countries, or work permits issued under economic, family-class or humanitarian public policies, and Post-Graduation Work Permits.

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Footnote 5

The TFW Program is jointly administered with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and is based on employer demand to fill specific jobs when no Canadians or permanent residents are available to do the work, with an LMIA required to issue closed work permits. The TFW Program includes seasonal and non-seasonal agricultural streams.

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Footnote 6

TFW Program targets include all non-seasonal workers who remain in Canada for longer than one year. Primary agriculture workers under the TFW Program who do not leave within the calendar year will be prioritized within these targets to limit the negative impact on Canada's economy and food supply chain.

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Footnote 7

TFW Program targets exclude all seasonal workers who enter and leave Canada within the same year (e.g., some seasonal primary agriculture and seasonal low-wage occupations in Canada for less than 270 days).

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Footnote 8

Study permits are issued to foreign nationals studying for six months or more in Canada at a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) that is approved by the provincial or territorial government to host international students.

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Permanent Residents
Immigrant Category		Target	Low Range	High Range	Target^{Footnote 1}	Low Range^{Footnote 2}	High Range	Target	Low Range	High Range
		2025			2026			2027
Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions		395,000 (367,000 - 436,000)^{Footnote 3}			380,000 (352,000 - 416,000)			365,000 (338,000 - 401,000)
Overall French-speaking Permanent Resident Admissions outside Quebec^{Footnote 4}		8.5% (29,325)			9.5% (31,350)			10% (31,500)
Economic	Federal Economic Priorities^{Footnote 5}	41,700	30,000	62,000	47,400	30,000	65,000	47,800	32,000	65,000
	In-Canada Focus^{Footnote 6}	82,980	39,000	89,000	75,830	33,000	82,000	70,930	66,000	76,000
	Federal Business^{Footnote 7}	2,000	1,200	3,000	1,000	200	2,000	1,000	200	2,000
	Federal Economic Pilots: Caregivers^{Footnote 8} ; Agri-Food; Community Immigration Pilots^{Footnote 9} ; Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot	10,920	6,000	14,800	9,920	5,300	14,000	9,920	5,300	14,000
	Atlantic Immigration Program	5,000	4,000	7,000	5,000	4,000	7,000	5,000	4,000	7,000
	Provincial Nominee Program	55,000	20,000	65,000	55,000	20,000	65,000	55,000	20,000	65,000
	Quebec Skilled Workers and Business^{Footnote 10}	34,500	33,000	50,000	TBD	-	-	TBD	-	-
	Regularization Public Policy^{Footnote 11}	50	-	250	100	-	500	200	-	1,000
	Total Economic	232,150 (215,000 – 256,000)			229,750 (214,000 – 249,000)			225,350 (207,000 – 246,000)
Family	Spouses, Partners and Children	70,000	65,500	78,000	66,500	63,000	75,000	61,000	58,000	67,500
	Parents and Grandparents	24,500	20,500	28,000	21,500	16,500	24,500	20,000	15,000	22,000
	Total Family	94,500 (88,500 – 102,000)			88,000 (82,000 – 96,000)			81,000 (77,000 – 89,000)
Refugees and Protected Persons	Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad	20,000	18,000	30,000	18,000	16,000	30,000	18,000	16,000	30,000
	Resettled Refugees – Government Assisted^{Footnote 12}	15,250	13,000	17,000	15,250	13,000	17,000	15,250	13,000	17,000
	Resettled Refugees – Blended Visa Office Referred	100	-	150	100	-	150	100	-	150
	Resettled Refugees – Privately Sponsored	23,000	21,000	26,000	22,000	19,000	24,000	21,000	19,000	24,000
	Total Refugees and Protected Persons	58,350 (55,000 – 65,000)			55,350 (50,000 – 62,000)			54,350 (50,000 – 60,000)
Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other^{Footnote 13}		10,000 (8,500 – 13,000)			6,900 (6,000 – 9,000)			4,300 (4,000 – 6,000)

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Notional targets and ranges for 2026 and 2027 will be confirmed or adjusted by November 1 of each year.

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Footnote 2

Ranges provide operational flexibility so that IRCC can remain responsive to evolving priorities and program pressures.

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Footnote 3

Program and category specific ranges do not equal the total range for each class.

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Footnote 4

The overall French-speaking permanent resident admissions outside Quebec indicated here represent the number of admissions required to meet the 8.5% target in 2025, 9.5% target in 2026, and 10% target in 2027 of overall permanent resident admissions that have been set. These targets are for admissions outside Quebec and are therefore calculated based on how many admissions within the Levels Plan would be necessary to meet the targets, based on the overall ranges for admissions outside of Quebec. Once Quebec tables its 2026 immigration levels plan, these numbers may require updating.

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Footnote 5

Includes admissions for eligible candidates with specific skills, training and language ability, in order to be responsive to labour-market needs, through categories established by the Minister of IRC in the Express Entry system. The 2025 priority categories include: health care occupations, trade occupations, and French-language proficiency. Categories are established each year, informed by labour market information and projections as well as input received from partners, including provinces and territories, and stakeholders across the country.

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Footnote 6

Primarily admissions from the Canadian Experience Class and other regional immigration pathways but may also come from Federal Skilled Workers and Federal Skilled Trades.

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Footnote 7

Includes admissions from the Start-up Visa Program and the Self-employed Persons Program.

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Footnote 8

Includes admissions from the Home Child Care Provider and the Home Support Worker Pilots, and admissions from preceding caregiver programming for which applications are being processed to completion. These include the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs classes, a temporary public policy referred to as the Interim Pathway for Caregivers, and the legacy Live-in Caregiver Program. Also includes admissions for new pilots to provide a direct pathway to permanent residence for caregivers as soon as they arrive in Canada.

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Footnote 9

Includes admissions from the Rural Community Immigration Pilot, which replaced the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot for which applications are being processed to completion. Also includes admissions from the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot which targets Francophone minority communities.

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Footnote 10

Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has responsibility for the selection of economic immigrants destined to the province. On November 1, 2023, Quebec tabled its 2024-25 immigration levels plan at the National Assembly of Quebec, targeting a total of 56,500 permanent resident admissions per year in 2024 and in 2025. Once Quebec tables its new immigration levels plan in fall 2025, numbers will be updated.

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Footnote 11

Includes admissions for clients provided with permanent residency under a regularization initiative focused on those in essential service industries.

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Footnote 12

Includes streams for human rights defenders in need of protection, as well as LGBTQI+ individuals.

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Footnote 13

Includes admissions of persons selected on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, for reasons of public policy, and in the permit holder class. This also includes some admissions from Canada’s responses to the situations in Ukraine, Sudan, and Hong Kong.

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Date modified:: 2024-10-24

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Notice – Supplementary Information for the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan

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