Canada unveils breakdown of 100,000 additional permanent residence spaces
Canada’s immigration department has released a breakdown of how it plans to allocate up to 100,000 additional permanent residence admissions spaces for the year 2027:
| Permanent residence pathway(s) | Expected top-line admissions |
|---|---|
| Hongkonger pathways | 32,000 |
| Ukraine family reunification | 18,800 |
| Canadians’ spouses and dependent children | 45,000 |
| Humanitarian and compassionate | 12,600 |
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published the figures in a press release on the federal government website on Nov. 10, 2026.
In 2027, IRCC aims to process all remaining applications under the Hongkonger pathways and the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway.
IRCC said it will allocate the remainder of the additional spaces to
- Spouses, common-law partners, and dependent children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents; and
- Approved-in-principle humanitarian and compassionate applicants.
All the additional admissions spaces are for persons who are already in Canada and have already applied for permanent residence.
Applicants do not need to take any action to have the processing of their permanent residence applications accelerated under this initiative, according to the press release.
The press release provides more details on what the government calls the “specific humanitarian populations” cohort of the 2027 TR-to-PR transition measures (2027 TPTMs) the government announced in Budget 2026.
The 2027 TPTMs include 200,000 additional permanent residence spaces, on top of the 380,000 annual target for 2027 established in the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan.
The other 100,000 spaces are for in-Canada workers and their family members, and are to be allocated in collaboration with the provinces and territories through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
The additional admissions planned under the 2027 TPTMs are also in addition to the two one-time initiatives (2026–2027 OTIs) the federal government introduced in 2026 with the aim of transitioning to permanent residence 115,000 protected persons and 33,000 foreign workers over the course of 2026–2027.
Neither the Levels Plan nor the government’s “Managing a responsive and predictable immigration system” web page specifies how many 2027 admissions the government anticipates will take place through the 2026–2027 OTIs.
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