Canada to Grant Permanent Residency to 33,000 Workers

Canada has announced a plan to transition 33,000 temporary workers to permanent residence between 2026 and 2027, as confirmed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in briefing materials dated May 28, 2026. This initiative, first introduced in Budget 2025, accelerates an existing pathway rather than creating a new program.

Eligible workers must meet two criteria: they must have applied for permanent residence through regional programs and occupation-driven pilots, and they must have resided in smaller Canadian communities for two years or more. The initiative explicitly excludes undocumented individuals or those without immigration status.

As of the briefing date, 3,600 workers had already been granted permanent residence under this initiative, which aims to address labor shortages in smaller communities. The remaining applications are expected to be processed through 2027, prioritizing those already in the immigration pipeline to avoid creating a new queue.