Canada has announced a special immigration initiative to provide permanent residency (PR) to up to 100,000 foreign workers and their eligible family members in 2027, offering a major opportunity for thousands of people already living and working in the country.
Under the time-bound measure, the Canadian government will provide additional Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allocations to provinces and territories, allowing them to nominate workers who have established themselves in local communities and are contributing to the economy.
The announcement was made by Canada’s Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab on November 12. The initiative is part of the measures outlined in the country’s Budget 2026 and aims to help employers retain skilled employees while addressing labour shortages across different regions.
According to the government, provincial and territorial administrations will have the flexibility to decide how many additional nomination spaces they want to utilise. They will be able to identify workers who are already settled in their jurisdictions, have employment and meet the requirements of local labour markets.
The additional allocations are expected to be used by March 31, 2027, to facilitate the transition of eligible workers and their families to permanent resident status during the year.
The initiative will also cover certain applicants who have already submitted applications for permanent residency through federal immigration programmes but are still awaiting decisions. These include candidates under the Atlantic Immigration Program and several federal schemes that are no longer accepting fresh applications.
The programmes include the Start-up Visa Program, Self-Employed Persons Program, Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programmes. Provincial governments will be able to identify eligible applicants from these categories and help facilitate their transition to permanent residency.
The Canadian government said the move would benefit both employers and workers by providing greater certainty about their future. Retaining experienced foreign workers is also expected to help businesses maintain their workforce and support economic development, particularly in smaller communities facing labour shortages.
Diab said retaining established and skilled workers would contribute to economic growth and strengthen businesses across the country. She added that the government would work with provincial and territorial administrations to provide greater stability to employers, workers and their families.
Apart from the 100,000 additional spaces earmarked for workers and their families, Canada’s immigration plan also provides permanent residency opportunities for several other categories of people already residing in the country.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government intends to facilitate permanent residency for up to 32,000 applicants who had applied under special immigration pathways for Hong Kong residents. These pathways stopped accepting new applications in August 2026.
Similarly, up to 18,800 applicants under the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway, which closed to new applications in October 2024, are expected to benefit from the initiative.
The government has also set aside provisions for up to 12,600 individuals who have already been found eligible for permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. In addition, up to 45,000 spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Canada will be covered under the measures.
The government has clarified that the initiative does not introduce new immigration programmes or reopen pathways that have already been closed. Instead, it is aimed at expediting the processing of applications from specific categories of people who are already in Canada and awaiting decisions on their immigration status.
Applicants covered under these measures are not required to approach the immigration department separately or submit fresh applications for consideration under the additional admissions spaces.
The latest initiative is also separate from the In-Canada Worker Initiative announced in Canada’s Budget 2025, which was designed to facilitate the transition of temporary workers already contributing to the Canadian economy to permanent resident status.
Through these measures, Canada is seeking to retain skilled workers, fulfil existing immigration commitments and make its immigration system more predictable while ensuring that labour market requirements are met without placing additional pressure on housing and public infrastructure.
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