Canada’s government will unveil its new 2027-2029 immigration levels plan on November 5 alongside the federal budget, setting firm quotas for permanent and temporary residents in 2027 along with provisional targets for 2028-2029.

In short

  • The 2027-2029 levels plan is expected in fall 2026, likely alongside the federal budget on November 5.
  • The 2026 target is 380,000 permanent residents, but only about 57% had been met by August.
  • Starting November 3, Express Entry will award 20-100 bonus CRS points for high-wage work, but the two bonus types can’t be combined.
  • The economic category backlog stands at 160,000 applications, 110,000 of them in Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP).
  • The provisional PNP target for 2027 (92,500) isn’t locked in yet and could rise due to provincial pressure and accumulated backlogs.

When the 2027 Immigration Levels Plan Will Be Released

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the minister must table the levels plan no later than November 1. This year November 1 falls on a Sunday, so the release is pushed back: last year the document was tabled for the same reason on November 4, alongside the budget. The finance minister has confirmed that the 2026 federal budget will be presented on Thursday, November 5. It has been officially confirmed that the 2027-2029 levels plan will be tabled in the fall of 2026; the release date lining up with the budget is expected but has not been separately confirmed by the government.

The overlap in dates looks far from coincidental. The political climate around immigration hasn’t fundamentally shifted since last year, and releasing the levels plan together with the budget dampens the fallout: press and public attention shifts to the budget as a whole rather than to the immigration numbers on their own.

The plan will set not only the 2027 target but also benchmarks for 2028 and 2029. Figures for years beyond 2027 carry the status of a provisional target: the government publishes them in advance, but in practice these numbers have already been revised more than once by the time the next plan comes out.

No coincidence here

Releasing the levels plan together with the budget dampens the fallout: press attention shifts to the budget overall rather than to the immigration numbers on their own.

How the Levels Plan Works: Permanent and Temporary Residents

Every year the Canadian government sets a three-year admissions plan for permanent residents — targets for the current year plus the two years that follow (c6). The plan covers both permanent and temporary residence: it’s a combined admissions figure across both categories (c7).

The permanent residents section is broken down by category: economic immigration, family reunification, and refugees and humanitarian cases (c8). The temporary residents section covers workers and students (c9). In effect, the plan functions like a budget for immigration: the total is split across categories and years.

The new document covers 2027-2029 (c10). But the targets for these years aren’t equal in weight. The 2027 figures are firm and fixed (c10). The numbers for 2028 and 2029, on the other hand, are provisional benchmarks that can change (c3, c11), and in practice this has already happened before (c4). So when planning, it’s worth anchoring on the figures for the nearest year rather than the full three-year horizon.

2026 Plan Targets: How Many Residents, By What Category

The 2026 plan sets admissions at 380,000 new permanent residents — a target that sits in the middle of the planned range of 350,000-420,000, within which actual admissions can vary — and the same figure is also pencilled in for 2027-2028.

The bulk of the quota goes to economic immigration: categories designed for applicants who will contribute economically, as opposed to the family class, which exists for family reunification.

Category Place in the 2026 Plan
Federal high-skilled program (Express Entry) 109,000
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) 91,500
Family sponsorship 84,000
Refugees and humanitarian categories 56,000
Total permanent residents 380,000

Provincial programs showed a noticeable increase in 2026 compared to the prior year.

For temporary residents, the 2026 target is 385,000 people, including 235,000 workers and 155,000 students. The 2027 and 2028 figures for this category are planned to come down.

Will Canada Actually Hit Its 2026 Targets?

By August, Canada had admitted roughly 57% of its 380,000 permanent resident target — with only four months left in the year (c20). At the current pace, the year would finish at around 325,000 new permanent residents — below not just the target itself but also the allowable range set each year around that target number (c21).

If one-time initiative admissions are counted in, the figure climbs to roughly 263,000, which does fall within the target range (c22). But there’s a catch: when releasing these numbers, the government itself noted that one-time initiatives count above and beyond the plan’s target, not as part of meeting it. So 263,000 isn’t evidence that the 2026 plan is on track — it’s more a demonstration of how differently the final result can be counted.

when releasing these numbers, the government itself noted that one-time initiatives count above and beyond the plan’s target, not as part of meeting it

The picture on temporary residents is uneven. The 2026 student target is 155,000, but only 42% of it had been met by August (c28). Temporary workers are faring better, with completion sitting at 50-57% of the 230,000 target (c29). Meanwhile, the temporary foreign worker program specifically saw just 2,000-2,500 arrivals in August alone — a tiny figure against the broader picture of temporary migration (c30).

A similar shortfall has happened before: in 2025 the plan also fell short of its targets, yet the following year’s targets were left unchanged anyway (c66).

2026 targets falling behind

By August only 57% of the permanent resident target and 42% of the student target had been met. At the current pace, the year will finish below the allowable range.

Application Backlogs and Temporary Foreign Workers

The shortfall against the 2026 targets isn’t explained by a lack of applications — IRCC is sitting on a substantial backlog of unprocessed cases in economic categories:

  • 50,000 Canadian Experience Class applications are awaiting processing;
  • 110,000 Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications are in the queue;
  • in total, 160,000 applications across economic selection factors are in the pipeline (c31).

Within provincial programs, the accumulated backlog breaks down as follows: roughly 94,000 applications sit in the regular (non-Express Entry) PNP stream, with another 14,000-15,000 in the Express Entry PNP stream (c50, c52, c53). That volume is comparable to nearly the entire provisional annual admissions target for provincial programs in 2027. The delay in processing matters beyond the paperwork: PNP applicants are typically already in Canada and working, and until a decision comes through, they have to keep maintaining temporary status.

A backlog, not a shortage of applicants

160,000 applications in economic categories are already waiting for processing. PNP applicants are often already in Canada and have to maintain temporary status until a decision comes through.

High-Wage CRS Points in Express Entry Starting November 3

Starting November 3, Express Entry will launch bonus CRS points for high-wage occupations — the high wage points program (c39, c41). A candidate can choose one of two paths to earn the bonus.

The first is based on Canadian work experience. If a candidate has at least 12 months of Canadian work experience in a role officially classified as a designated high wage occupation, they receive an additional 20-70 CRS points — on top of the regular points for the length of Canadian experience (c40, c42).

The second path is based on a job offer. A qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation earns 50-100 CRS points, and no LMIA is required for this (c43, c44).

The two bonuses can’t be combined: only the higher of the two is awarded — either the experience points with the high-wage bonus, or the job offer points (c45).

The two bonuses can’t be combined: only the higher of the two is awarded

Alongside the program launch, a pause in Express Entry invitations has been announced (c46). According to available information, the pause may run through the end of November, but that timeline isn’t final and depends on IRCC’s technical readiness to process the system changes (c47).

How the Levels Plan Affects Application Strategy

The headline number in the levels plan is the total figure for new permanent residents, but for an individual applicant it doesn’t mean much directly — what matters is the figure for their specific category (c35). If most of the quota goes to Express Entry-linked programs, that’s one scenario; if the PNP share grows, it makes sense to focus on provincial programs instead.

Waiting for the plan to be published and sitting in “let’s wait for an invitation” mode isn’t a workable approach — it doesn’t help as long as a candidate doesn’t control their own place in the pool. The only task that matters at this stage is maximizing an Express Entry profile and racking up as many CRS points as possible (c37): that’s the one lever an applicant actually controls, regardless of what the plan ends up showing.

Waiting for the plan to be published and sitting in “let’s wait for an invitation” mode isn’t a workable approach

This year’s situation makes the point well: the invitation target was 109,000, yet the actual number of invitations issued was record-breaking — the plan doesn’t always predict real-world dynamics (c38, c36). Relying solely on target figures is therefore risky: competition within the Express Entry pool stays high no matter what numbers the new document sets.

What an applicant actually controls

The plan’s headline figure has little bearing on an individual application. The one thing an applicant can manage directly is their CRS score in an Express Entry profile.

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) and 2027 Targets

The 2026 target for provincial nominee programs (PNP) was 91,500 people, with a provisional figure of 92,500 pencilled in for 2027 (c48). The difference is small, but the provisional 2027 target itself isn’t locked in yet: a significant portion of the number is still undecided (c54).

The reason lies in the same accumulated PNP backlogs described above: the volume of unprocessed applications is already comparable to the provisional 2027 target, which means the issue isn’t a shortage of candidates — it’s the pace of federal-level vetting.

Because of this delay, several provinces, including Ontario, are asking for a larger allocated quota (c49). Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and the recent referendum in Alberta all point to provinces pushing not just for a bigger quota but for greater control over immigration overall. PNP allocations have already been rising year over year for the past several years through additional nominations (c62), so a quota increase for 2027 looks likely, though the exact figure hasn’t been set.

For an applicant working in a specific province who isn’t racking up high-wage points in Express Entry, provincial nominee programs remain a separate, viable application route.

Francophone Immigration and the Temporary Resident Share Through 2027-2029

The target share of francophone immigrants is set to rise in stages: 8.5% in 2027, 10.5% in 2028, and 12% in 2029 (c67, c68). These figures have already been discussed by officials as part of the upcoming levels plan, and they’re expected to be written directly into the document (c69).

There’s some uncertainty around French-language factors in Express Entry: reform proposals have floated removing the French-language bonus points, which led some candidates to assume francophone draws would stop altogether. There have been no direct statements about scrapping such draws — instead of the old bonus system, a scheme with an additional 50 points tied to linked factors is under discussion (c57). It remains unclear whether French will stay a significant factor through 2029 or be phased out sooner.

A separate target concerns the temporary resident share — the plan is to hold it at around 1% of Canada’s population (c58). A more specific benchmark is to bring the temporary resident share below 5% by the end of 2027 (c64). According to expert assessments, current figures are far from that target, and reaching it would require unconventional, “extreme” measures (c65).

Frequently asked questions

What happens if the release date for the 2027 levels plan shifts again?

The date is tied to the budget, which the government hasn’t formally announced as a joint release — that’s an expectation, not a confirmed fact. If the budget is delayed, the levels plan will likely shift along with it, since that synchronization is exactly what explains the choice of a date after November 1.

Can someone apply through a PNP if they’re not yet in Canada?

The information here concerns applicants who are already in Canada and working while awaiting a decision on their PNP application — for them, processing delays are critical since they must maintain temporary status in the meantime. No separate conditions are given for applicants outside Canada.

What will happen to CRS points for French after 2026?

There have been no direct statements about scrapping francophone draws. Instead of the old bonus system, a scheme with an additional 50 points tied to linked factors is under discussion, but it’s still unclear whether French will remain a significant factor through 2029 or be phased out sooner.

Should applicants wait for the Express Entry invitation pause to end before submitting a profile?

No — the pause only affects the issuing of invitations, not submitting or improving a profile. The one factor an applicant controls directly is their CRS score, and it’s worth maximizing it regardless of the pause or its exact timeline.

What happens if the 2026 plan isn’t fully met in practice?

Falling short of targets doesn’t automatically trigger a program overhaul: a similar situation happened in 2025, when the plan also fell short, yet the following year’s targets were left unchanged anyway.

Which is better: the Canadian experience bonus or the job offer bonus?

The job offer bonus awards more points — 50-100 versus 20-70 for experience — but the two bonuses can’t be combined: only the higher one counts. So for a candidate with an offer in a high-wage occupation, that route usually delivers a bigger CRS boost than the experience bonus.