These new initiatives are benefitting in-Canada candidates for permanent residence

Over the last year or so, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has consistently emphasized that is prioritizing those already in Canada for permanent residence (PR).

The latest Immigration Levels Plan (2026-2028) explicitly stated that its temporary resident (TR) and PR targets for the year were established “...with a focus on transitioning to permanent residence those who are already in Canada with needed skills and experience.”

As such, we’ve seen the immigration department introduce a number of initiatives to reflect that, such as dropping a new Express Entry category centered around Canadian work experience and facilitating PR status for 33,000 in-Canada workers over 2026/2027.

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This article will cover the recent initiatives, policies, and immigration decisions introduced by IRCC that advantage candidates within Canada in obtaining PR status.

66% increase to PR admissions target for Provincial Nominee Programs

The 2026-2028 ILP, released in November of 2025, features an increased PR admissions target for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2026 compared to the year prior—from 55,000 admissions to 91,500 admissions.

This has already translated to an increase in initial per-province/territory nomination allocations (compared to last year) among jurisdictions which have released data, which means a greater number of candidates will be able to be nominated for PR.

And since most PNP streams favour candidates who possess work or study experience in the province, this provides in-Canada candidates with an advantage when seeking PR status.

Last year, the federal government mandated that 75% of nominations be distributed to temporary residents already in Canada, which—though not explicitly required this year—illustrates the emphasis on those already present in the country.

The Plan also highlights a further increase for 2027 to 2028 per its notional target inclusion across both years, to 92,500 PR spaces.

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Maintenance of Express Entry-based PR admissions, focus on CEC

Under the latest ILP, PR admissions targets for immigration through Express Entry (Federal High Skilled Worker) remain fairly high at an allotted 109,000 spaces—compared to 124,680 the year prior.

At 109,000 admissions spaces, the Express Entry category makes up the greatest share across all economic immigration categories (representing about 45% of all PR spaces).

This figure is only set to increase in 2027 and 2028 per notional targets included in the Plan—at 110,000 for both years.

Under the Express Entry system are three programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC)—the latter of which is the only one for which IRCC holds program-specific draws, emphasizing its prioritization.

As such, CEC candidates—which must have at least one year of Canadian work experience—will likely benefit the most from the department’s high PR space allocation under Express Entry for the year, especially when taken with IRCC’s continued emphasis on the prioritization of in-Canada candidates.

For reference, in 2025, IRCC issued 113,998 invitations to apply (ITAs)—35,850 of which were extended to CEC candidates over the course of 15 draws (the second most drawn category).

In 2026 thus far, IRCC has already held four Express Entry draws, two of which were CEC draws totaling 14,000 ITA issuances. Last January, IRCC held three draws—two of these were CEC draws, but only 5,350 ITAs were issued across both.

This year’s large CEC draws emphasize IRCC’s maintained commitment towards inviting in-Canada candidates for PR.

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Streamlined pathway to PR for temporary foreign workers

IRCC announced in Budget 2025 that over the course of 2026 and 2027, the immigration department will provide an accelerated track to PR for up to 33,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada.

As per the latest immigration levels plan, “This initiative will target workers who have established strong roots in their communities, are paying taxes, and are helping to build the strong economy Canada needs.”

This one-time initiative directly reflects the federal government’s goal of prioritizing PR invitations for those who are already within the country as temporary residents, as part of its greater efforts to reduce the number of new arrivals while meeting immigration targets for the year.

This policy will focus on work permit holders in high-demand sectors, with a clear focus on workers in rural regions.

Specific eligibility criteria, and details on how this measure will be facilitated are currently unclear, though it may come in the form of a new TR to PR pathway separate from existing programs and streams.

In its “corporate initiatives” page, IRCC specifies that it aims to prioritize highly skilled workers in key sectors in Canada, such as emerging technologies, health care, and skilled trades.

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Streamlined pathway to PR for 100,000+ in-Canada Protected Persons

Late last year, IRCC announced another one-time measure to facilitate the transition to PR of approximately 115,000 temporary residents recognized as Protected Persons by IRCC and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

The initiative will run parallel to the one above, over the course of the next two years, and will target Protected Persons already on a pathway to PR.

In the current administration’s view, granting these individuals priority access to PR over the next two years "...will ensure that those in genuine need of Canada’s protection have their permanent status recognized, accelerating their full integration into the Canadian society and their path to citizenship, and upholding Canada’s international humanitarian obligations.”

The federal government frames this measure as one element of a wider effort to realign Canada’s immigration system with long-term sustainability.

New Canadian work experience-based Express Entry category

This past December, the federal government instituted a new Express Entry category: “Physicians with Canadian work experience” to help address critical labour shortages across Canada.

This initiative gives qualifying physicians already working within the country on a temporary basis an easier pathway to PR—and draws are slated to begin “in early 2026.”

Unlike other occupational categories which require six months of Canadian work experience either abroad or within Canada, this new category specifically targets doctors with one year of in-Canada experience.

The following occupations are eligible: general practitioners and family physicians (31102), specialists in surgery (31101), and specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (31100).

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5,000 PR admissions spaces reserved for licensed doctors

In early December 2025, IRCC announced that it will be setting aside 5,000 federal admission spaces for provinces and territories to nominate licensed doctors with valid job offers in Canada.

This initiative will see practice-ready physicians, some of which will likely already be working within the nominating province, benefit from occupation-based provincial selection.

These 5,000 PR spaces are in addition to PNP allocations and will likely translate to increased provincial nominations across all jurisdictions. It is unclear at this time, however, how this will look in practice and which PR admission allocation these reservations will come from.

This will not only benefit in-Canada physicians with job offers, but also overseas candidates across all PNP streams due to reduced competition against existing nomination allocations.

Since, however, provinces and territories tend to give precedence to those with regional ties—it’s likely that in-Canada candidates will receive priority selection.

Related initiative: Announced alongside this initiative was complementary measure that will see successfully nominated physicians be able to begin working before their PR applications are finalized—thanks to expedited work permit processing of 14 days or less.

This is particularly significant as work permit applications can often take months to finalize—which delays work authorization.

5,000 PR admissions spaces reserved for French-speaking immigrants

Per a news release published on January 19, beginning this year, the federal government will also be reserving an additional 5,000 PR spaces for provinces and territories to bring in more French-speaking immigrants.

As such, these increased allocations will provide for additional nominations distributed specifically to French-speaking provincial immigration candidates—supplementing established PNP nominations, similar to the above initiative.

While these spaces aren’t designated specifically for in-Canada candidates, provinces and territories tend to prioritize those with ties to the nominating province/territory (as seen through PNP stream eligibility)—such as those with local work or study experience.

Provinces may therefore choose to invite candidates within Canada who both meet the standard for francophone immigration, and who have strong ties and an intent to reside in their jurisdictions. These candidates would receive priority selection for nomination and thereby PR selection, if existing trends continue moving forward.

This reflects Canada’s continued efforts to increase Francophone immigration outside Quebec—and reach a permanent admissions target of 12% by 2029.

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