New TR to PR pathway limited so far to submitted PR applications, dubbed “In-Canada Workers Initiative”
Canada’s long-awaited new “TR to PR pathway” has so far been limited entirely to the fast-tracking of permanent residence applications that have already been submitted through existing permanent residence (PR) programs.
In a press release published on May 4, 2026, the federal government provided the first concrete details about what it has now named the “In-Canada Workers Initiative,” a one-time measure, first announced in budget 2025 last November, for transitioning up to 33,000 temporary resident workers to permanent residence over 2026-2027.
Assess your Eligibility for Canadian Permanent Residence
According to the government’s press release, “part of this initiative” consists of “initially accelerating eligible applications from existing inventories of work permit holders who have applied for permanent residence” through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), the community immigration pilots, the caregiver pilots, or the AgriFood pilot.
To be eligible to have their PR application accelerated through this initiative, an applicant must have been living in a smaller community in Canada for at least two years.
The government’s press release comes as a disappointment to many temporary foreign workers in Canada, who had anticipated the creation of a new, temporary permanent residence program through which they could submit permanent residence applications, akin to a revamp of the 2021 TR-to-PR pathway.
No new concrete details about the “In-Canada Workers Initiative” have been conveyed in the May 4 press releases, other than that progress is being tracked on the government’s temporary resident page, and that 3,600 workers have been granted permanent residence of the 20,000 target for the year 2026.
Sparse information from the start
In the first mention of what is now called the “In-Canada Workers Initiative,” Budget 2025 in November specified only "a one-time measure to accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027," for workers "paying taxes" who "have established strong roots in their communities" and were "helping to build the strong economy Canada needs."
From Nov 2025 onward, no further details were revealed, then in early March 2026, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said in an interview with the Toronto Star that the new pathway had “already launched,” without providing any details on which workers were eligible or how a foreign worker could be considered or selected under the initiative.
On April 18, in an interview with “I’m Canada,” Diab revealed that the initiative would exclude workers from Canada’s urban areas.
The trend extends to the most recent announcement, in which the federal government is continuing to play its cards close to its chest.
- Do you need Canadian immigration assistance? Contact the Contact Cohen Immigration Law firm by completing our form
- Send us your feedback or your non-legal assistance questions by emailing us at media@canadavisa.com
