Canada Locks Permanent Resident Target at 380,000 Through 2028

Canada has set a steady permanent residency target of 380,000 admissions a year from 2026 through 2028 under its current Immigration Levels Plan, adopted in late 2025. The figure replaces an earlier plan that would have dropped intake to 365,000 in 2027, but the broader message is one of restraint: while the permanent stream stabilizes, Canada is actively cutting temporary migration.

What changed

The previous plan scheduled 395,000 admissions in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. The new plan holds the annual target at 380,000 for 2026, 2027 and 2028, within a planning range of 350,000 to 420,000.

The composition is shifting toward economic immigration. Economic admissions rise to 239,800 in 2026 and 244,700 in both 2027 and 2028 — roughly 63% to 64% of the total, the highest share in more than a decade. Family admissions fall from 84,000 in 2026 to 81,000 in the following two years, and refugee and humanitarian admissions drop from 56,200 to 54,300.

French-speaking candidates outside Quebec get growing allocations, from 30,267 in 2026 to 35,175 in 2028. In short, the system increasingly favors skilled workers, provincial nominees and francophone applicants.

On the temporary side, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is reducing arrivals of workers and students, aiming to bring temporary residents below 5% of the population by late 2027.

What it means for nomads

If your Canada plan involves entering on a work or study permit and later converting to permanent residence, this is the group facing the clearest squeeze. Fewer temporary arrivals combined with a fixed PR ceiling means Canadian work experience no longer guarantees a permanent path, even when it supports eligibility under an economic stream.

The practical takeaway: if you hold a permit and want to stay, compare your PR eligibility and expected processing timelines against your current status expiration date — before that status lapses. Waiting until the last minute is riskier in a tighter, more competitive system.

Tourists face no new entry cap under the plan. But anyone hoping to switch from a visitor position into work, study or permanent status enters the same more restrictive framework.

For remote workers weighing Canada as a long-term base, the plan signals predictability at the top (a stable PR number) but less generosity at the entry points that many nomads rely on. Those with skilled economic profiles, provincial nomination options or French-language ability are best positioned under the current priorities.

Originally reported by Stamped Nomad.