Provinces get room to make 100,000 workers PRs in 2027

Ottawa will give provinces and territories optional extra nominee space to move up to 100,000 workers already in Canada, and their families, to permanent residence in 2027, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said Nov. 12 in Dieppe, N.B.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said provinces and territories decide how much of the extra Provincial Nominee Program allocation to use. The allocations are meant to be used by March 31, 2027, to support transitions to permanent residence in 2027.

The measure creates no new program and reopens no closed pathway. IRCC said provinces can identify workers who have already applied for permanent residence and are waiting for a decision, including applicants to the Atlantic Immigration Program and to closed programs such as the Start-up Visa, Self-Employed Persons, Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programs.

Applicants do not need to do anything or contact IRCC, the department said. The release says the measure is separate from the In-Canada Worker Initiative announced in Budget 2025 and was announced in Budget 2026.

Diab said the measure and the Immigration Levels Plan will let the government work with provinces and territories to give certainty and stability to employers, workers and families, according to the release.

The announcement follows a Nov. 10 IRCC release that set out a wider group of people already in Canada who are waiting for permanent residence. IRCC said it aims to process all remaining applications under the Hong Kong pathways, for up to 32,000 admissions, and the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway, for up to 18,800 admissions, in 2027. The Hong Kong pathways closed to new applications on Aug. 31, 2026.

The same release lists up to 12,600 people already found eligible on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and up to 45,000 spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Canada. IRCC said these people are already in Canada, so they are not net new arrivals, and that the measure is in addition to existing targets and does not displace resettled refugees or other vulnerable groups.

The department described the Nov. 10 measure as proposed in Budget 2026. Ottawa held its permanent resident target at 380,000 a year through 2029, as Canada News Media reported earlier this month.

Workers who think they may be affected should check their application status in their IRCC account and watch their province’s immigration website for announcements. Questions about individual cases should go to IRCC or a licensed immigration consultant or lawyer. The department’s announcement is on the IRCC website, and the Nov. 10 release is also posted there.

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