Canada Permanent Resident Admissions 2026: Down 23,960 by July

As of October 13, 2026. Canada admitted 222,625 new permanent residents from January to July 2026, down 23,960 (9.7%) from 246,585 in the same seven months of 2025, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) open data on permanent residents, current to July 31, 2026. The drop is planned: the 2026 target is 380,000, down from 395,000 in 2025, and admissions so far are almost exactly on pace for it. What changed is the mix. Economic admissions fell by 30,830 while protected persons already in Canada more than doubled.

We built every table below from IRCC's monthly file "Canada - Admissions of Permanent Residents by Province/Territory of Intended Destination and Immigration Category". IRCC rounds small cells and masks values between 0 and 5, so category rows may not add exactly to the totals, and the figures can be revised in later releases.

Is Canada admitting fewer permanent residents in 2026?

Yes, by design. In the 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, the government set permanent resident targets at 380,000 a year for 2026 to 2028, "down from 395,000 in 2025", within a range of 350,000 to 420,000. Canada admitted 393,780 permanent residents in all of 2025 according to the same IRCC dataset, so 2025 landed close to its target.

Seven months is 58.3% of the year. At 222,625 admissions by July 31, 2026, Canada has used 58.6% of the 380,000 target, which puts the full year on course for roughly 380,000 if the pace holds.

The monthly pattern matters too. January 2026 was the slowest month in the series at 24,220 admissions. July 2026 was the busiest at 40,335, above July 2025 (38,735). Admissions in the second half of the year usually decide whether IRCC lands inside its range, and the July figure suggests processing has picked up.

Which immigration categories fell and which grew?

Economic immigration took the whole cut and then some. Family admissions eased slightly, and the refugee and protected person category grew by more than 12,000.

Inside those groups, the largest moves were:

• Protected Persons in Canada: 10,530 to 26,225 (+15,695)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC): 37,405 to 30,475 (-6,930)
• Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): 58,715 to 50,250 (-8,465)
• Quebec Skilled Worker: 26,140 to 15,680 (-10,460)
• Parents and grandparents: 15,020 to 10,240 (-4,780)
• Spouses and partners: 37,150 to 39,110 (+1,960)
• Start-up Business: 1,260 to 155, after IRCC paused the Start-up Visa Program

How do admissions compare with the 2026 targets?

IRCC's December 4, 2025 briefing on the permanent resident targets breaks the 380,000 into program targets. Comparing them with the January to July 2026 admissions shows which programs are ahead and which are behind a straight-line pace of 58.3%.

Federal High Skilled here counts CEC, Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades admissions outside Quebec, which is how the target is defined. Quebec selects its own economic immigrants under the Canada-Quebec Accord, and the plan lists the Quebec skilled worker and business target as "TBD".

Two readings follow from the table. Federal High Skilled is the furthest behind its target, at 43% after seven months, so IRCC has room to admit more Express Entry applicants before December 31. That fits the heavy draw schedule of 2026, since invitations issued in spring and summer turn into admissions six months or more later. Protected persons, on the other hand, passed their full-year target by July.

Why did protected person admissions jump?

The most likely reason is a one-time measure announced with the plan. The 2025 Annual Report says Budget 2025 "proposes a one-time initiative to recognise eligible Protected Persons in Canada as permanent residents over the next two years", noting that "the vast majority of these people cannot return to the country of their origin." IRCC's monthly dataset does not label admissions under that initiative separately, so we cannot say how many of the 26,225 came through it. The 15,695 increase is concentrated in Ontario (6,855 to 18,155), Alberta (630 to 2,530) and British Columbia (745 to 2,490).

Protected persons are people the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) or IRCC has already found to need Canada's protection. A rise in their admissions does not mean more asylum claims are being accepted; it means people already granted protection are getting permanent status faster. If you have a pending claim, read our guide to the new IRCC asylum claim process starting November 3, 2026.

Which provinces saw the biggest drops?

Every large province admitted fewer permanent residents, but not at the same rate.

Ontario's economic admissions fell further than its total suggests: 61,370 to 44,665 (-27.2%), with Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program admissions dropping from 17,840 to 9,315. The protected person increase offset part of that. In Quebec, the decline comes mostly from the Quebec Skilled Worker program. Manitoba (7,480 to 8,480 nominees), Saskatchewan (6,850 to 7,700) and Nova Scotia (3,020 to 3,535) grew through their provincial nominee programs. If you are weighing Ontario's program, read our guide to the OINP changes in 2026.

What this means if you are applying for permanent residence

For most applicants, the data points to steady processing rather than a freeze. The 2026 target is 380,000, the 2027 and 2028 notional targets are also 380,000, and the 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan is due on or before November 1, 2026 under section 94 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Our levels plan page will carry the new figures on the day they are tabled.

• Express Entry candidates. Federal High Skilled admissions are behind target, which supports continued large draws. Check your score with the CRS calculator and follow the Express Entry draw tracker.
• Provincial nominees. PNP admissions are close to pace at 55%, but the 2026 PNP target of 91,500 is still a fixed number of spaces. A nomination does not guarantee a quick landing; see current wait times on our processing times page.
• Sponsors. Spouse and partner admissions rose. Parent and grandparent admissions fell 31.8%, but they are at 68% of a 15,000 target, so that program is running ahead of its annual allocation, not behind it. See family sponsorship.
• Temporary residents hoping to transition. IRCC's December 2025 briefing put the average transition rate from study or work permit to permanent residence at 44% in 2023 and 2024, and 56% for Federal High Skilled. With fewer total spaces, the competition for each one is higher.

If you want to know which of these programs you qualify for now, start with our free immigration assessment. For a full review of your file with a licensed consultant, book a consultation.

How we calculated these figures

We downloaded IRCC's monthly permanent resident file (source line "IRCC, July 31, 2026") from the Open Government Portal on October 13, 2026 and added the January to July monthly cells for each year. We grouped categories exactly as IRCC labels them. For Federal High Skilled, we added Canadian Experience, Skilled Worker and Skilled Trade admissions outside Quebec, since Quebec's Skilled Worker program is reported under the same "Skilled Worker" label. Targets come from IRCC's committee briefing and the 2025 Annual Report. Masked cells were counted as zero, which can understate small categories by a few people.

Sources

• IRCC, Permanent Residents: Monthly IRCC Updates (Open Government Portal)
• IRCC, 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration
• IRCC, CIMM briefing: 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Permanent Resident Targets (December 4, 2025)