Immigration Minister Marc Miller's plan would see immigration stay flat in 2026 for the first time in a Covid-free year under the current Liberal government, in power since 2015. The plan would see the economic class increase to 301,250 new immigrants by 2026, exactly the same as in 2025 and more than the 281,135 expected in 2024. The federal skilled class will reach 117,500 by 2026, as Canada seeks to attract record numbers of new immigrants through Express Entry. The plan includes new annual and incremental targets for French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec: 6% by 2024, 7% by 2025 and 8% by 2026. Business Class Federal employee arrivals, including primarily Startups, will also increase, reaching 6,000 new arrivals by 2026.

Economic Class

The Provincial Nominee Program and Federal High Skilled categories will dominate the Economic Class newcomers.

PNP newcomers will account for 110,000 new permanent residents in 2024, 120,000 in 2025 and 120,000 in 2026.

Canada will also welcome 110,770, 117,500 and 117,500 in 2024, 2025 and 2026 respectively through the Federal High Skilled stream, mainly managed by Express Entry.

The stream includes newcomers through the Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades and Canadian Experience Class programs.

The Atlantic Immigration Program will see 8,500 newcomers by 2026, lower that set out in last year’s plan.

Family Class

Canada’s Family Class category will welcome 114,000 newcomers in 2024, then 118,000 in 2025 and 118,000 by 2026.

The majority of family sponsorship newcomers will be spouses, partners and children, growing to 84,000 by 2026. However, there will also be room for a high number of parents and grandparents, at 34,000 by 2026.

Refugees

Canada will continue to welcome large numbers of refugees, including 76,115 in 2024, 75,750 in 2025 and 72,750 in 2026. This is unchanged from last year’s plan.

Miller Announces New Strategy

Miller’s announcement came after he revealed his plan to transform Canada’s immigration system yesterday, entitled ‘An Immigration System for Canada’s Future’.

He outlined key details of his strategy, including to incorporate housing, health care and infrastructure planning, along with other important services, into Canada’s immigration levels planning.

He also plans to create a new Chief International Talent Officer position, whose job it will be to align immigration programs and pathways with the labour market.

Further changes will be made to the international student system, with a Recognized Institutions Framework to be introduced in partnership with provinces to allow established colleges and universities to access faster Study Permit processing.

A new Francophone Immigration Policy will aim to build on the minority French-speaking population and increase its demographic weight, Miller said.

He also plans to build an advisory body made up of immigrants to inform program and policy improvements, and introduce measures to ensure an ‘equitable and sustainable’ response to humanitarian crises.

Finally, Miller also plans to make the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website more user-friendly.