Canadian Immigration in 2026
Canada’s government has announced its plan to grant Canadian permanent residency to approximately 380,000 immigrants during 2026.
According to the Canadian government’s announcement, “The Plan prioritizes economic immigration to support the Government’s commitment to attract the best talent in the world and fill critical labour gaps in high-demand occupations that complement the domestic workforce, while maintaining our focus on humanitarian cases and family reunification.”
Consequently, 239,800 of these new Canadian permanent residents (63% of the total) will be “economic immigrants” (i.e., skilled foreign workers) and their dependent family members.
An additional 140,200 people can be authorized for Canadian immigration through family sponsorship; programs for refugees and protected persons; and for other humanitarian and compassionate reasons.
Economic Immigrants
The 2026 Canadian immigration plan makes permanent residency available to 239,800 skilled foreign workers and their accompanying family members through various immigration programs, such as the:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Federal Skilled Trades Program
- Canadian Experience Class Program
- Provincial Nominee Program
- Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program
- Atlantic Immigration Program
There is a strong demand for skilled immigrants who are needed to help fill thousands of Canadian job openings in healthcare, technology, engineering, education, business, finance, management, and other sectors of the economy.
Each Canadian immigration program has its own unique eligibility requirements and application procedure.
To learn if you quality for Canadian immigration as a skilled foreign worker, click here!
Priority for French Speakers
The Canadian government wants to increase the number of new French-speaking immigrants who are living outside of Quebec by 30,267 during 2026, in order to enhance the vitality of Francophone communities across Canada.
Therefore, French-speaking skilled foreign workers are a priority group for receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residency through the Express Entry system.
Nonetheless, the mostly Francophone province of Quebec has set its own immigration target of 45,000 new permanent residents during 2026, most of whom will be French-speaking skilled immigrants and their dependent family members.
Family Sponsorship
Keeping families together is important in Canada, which is why 69,000 spouses, partners, and children, as well as 15,000 parents and grandparents, of Canadian citizens and permanent residents can be sponsored for immigration to Canada in 2026.
Helping People in Need
Canadians have a good reputation worldwide for generally being friendly and compassionate, as demonstrated by the thousands of refugees and other people in need who are welcomed to live in Canada each year.
During 2026, the Canadian immigration plan authorizes 49,300 refugees and protected persons to settle in Canada, as well as 5,800 additional individuals based on humanitarian and compassionate reasons.
Conclusion
Canada remains one of the top destinations for immigrants from around the world who are looking for better opportunties in life.
While some countries are closing their doors to immigrants, Canada continues to welcome new immigrants with open arms, especially foreign workers with high-demand skills who can contribute to the Canadian economy.
Would you and your family like to join the 380,000 immigrants from around the world who will become Canadian permanent residents in 2026?
Canadian permanent residents are allowed to live, study and work in Canada for an unlimited time period and can enjoy many other benefits, including the option to apply for Canadian citizenship after living in Canada for only three years during a five-year period and meeting other criteria.
The goal of Canadian Visa Expert is to inform people around the world about the many benefits of immigration to Canada and to make the application process easier for them to complete correctly.
Since 2012, Canadian Visa Expert has been working with a team of authorized immigration consultants who can evaluate your eligibility for immigration to Canada and guide you through each step of the application process if you qualify.
The first step is to receive your eligibility evaluation so you will know your best option for Canadian immigration.
