Canada Announces One-Time Measure to Grant Permanent Residency to 200,000 Temporary Residents
The Canadian government unveiled a one-time federal budget measure to grant permanent residency to 200,000 temporary residents already in the country. Combined with existing targets and carry-over spots, total admissions in 2027 could exceed 650,000, sparking debate between proponents who see economic and humanitarian benefits and critics who accuse the government of a hidden mass immigration agenda.
Ottawa announced a one-time immigration measure in its federal budget to grant permanent residency to 200,000 temporary residents already living in Canada. The initiative targets two specific cohorts of 100,000 people each: a workers' cohort drawn from special pathways such as the Start-up Visa program, Home Care Worker pilot programs, the Atlantic Immigration program, and the Agri-Food Pilot; and a humanitarian cohort that includes individuals under the Ukraine family-reunification pathway, the Hong Kong permanent-residents pathway, and spouses or children of eligible applicants.
The new 200,000 spots are in addition to the 380,000 permanent resident spots previously allocated for 2026—a figure reduced from an earlier target of 500,000. When combined with 82,000 spots left over from a similar measure last year, which saw 148,000 temporary residents granted permanent status in 2025 and 66,000 people granted permanent residency so far under that effort, the measure could potentially raise total permanent-resident admissions in 2027 to more than 650,000 people.
Prime Minister Mark Carney defended the decision, stating that those granted permanent residency were previously "not permanent in terms of classification, but are effectively permanent residents." Adam Hajji of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce echoed this view, arguing that granting permanent cards to immigrants already working in Canada does not increase the total number of immigrants in the country. Proponents maintain the decision is correct from both economic and humanitarian perspectives, providing certainty about work status for employees already in the Canadian workforce and offering a pathway to permanence for temporary residents on work permits facing expiration without PR status.
Critics, however, argue the move reneges on promises to control immigration. Conservative Party immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner accused the Liberal government of pursuing a "hidden mass immigration agenda" intended to enrich wealthy corporate friends. Parisa Mahboubi, an economist with the C.D. Howe Institute, argued that adding these transitions outside the headline target masks the actual number of permanent residents Canada will admit in 2027.
Despite the increase in permanent status grants, the government maintains its goal of reducing the temporary-resident population to 5 per cent of the total population by the end of 2027, down from the current share of 6.7 per cent. This follows a period between 2022 and 2024 when the temporary-resident population share surged by more than 7 per cent, driven by a peak of 971,000 foreign workers and international students admitted in 2023. The government subsequently reduced its temporary-resident target from 673,650 to 370,000. By the end of August, 195,000 people had arrived against that 370,000 target. Businesses have reported losing workers due to immigration crackdowns and difficulty finding replacements, while some observers note the stricter approach has made Canada less attractive for overseas workers and students, resulting in lower arrival numbers than targeted.