Canada grants permanent residency to 182,100 immigrants in first half of 2026

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Canada admitted 182,100 new permanent residents in the first six months of 2026, putting the country behind the pace required to meet its immigration target for the year.

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New data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on August 18 showed that 155,800 permanent residents were admitted between January 1 and June 30 under the country’s main immigration categories.

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An additional 26,300 permanent residents were admitted through two one-time initiatives targeting protected persons and workers already living in Canada.

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The 182,100 admissions represent 40.8 per cent of Canada’s adjusted 2026 target of 446,000 permanent residents.

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The federal government’s immigration levels plan had set a target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions for 2026. However, when the two one-time initiatives are included, the effective target rises to 446,000.

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To reach the adjusted annual target, Canada would need to admit 263,900 more permanent residents between July and December.

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The economic immigration category accounted for the largest share of Canada’s permanent resident admissions in the first half of the year.

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IRCC recorded 89,200 economic-class admissions by June 30, against a 2026 target of 239,800. This means the department was about 30,700 admissions below the pace required at the halfway point of the year.

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The economic category includes programmes such as Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), federal business programmes and various economic pilot programmes.

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Canada admitted 45,100 permanent residents through the family class during the first six months of 2026.

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The government’s annual target for family-class admissions is 84,000, meaning the country was about 3,100 admissions ahead of the pace required to meet its annual target by the end of June.

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The family category covers spouses, partners and dependants sponsored by Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as well as parents and grandparents sponsored through the Parents and Grandparents Program.

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IRCC recorded 17,900 permanent resident admissions under the refugees and protected persons category by June 30.

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Canada’s target for the category is 49,300 admissions in 2026, leaving the country about 6,750 admissions below the pace required to meet its annual target.

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The category includes government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees, as well as people in Canada who have been granted protection by the Immigration and Refugee Board or through the pre-removal risk assessment process.

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Canada’s 2026 immigration figures also include two temporary initiatives designed to grant permanent residence to protected persons and workers already living in the country.

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Under the initiatives, Canada aims to admit 46,000 protected persons and 20,000 in-Canada workers in 2026.

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By June 30, IRCC had admitted 15,000 protected persons and 11,300 in-Canada workers through the initiatives.

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This represents 33 per cent of the protected-person target and 57 per cent of the target for in-Canada workers.

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The In-Canada Workers Initiative is aimed at eligible skilled workers who have lived in a rural community in Canada for at least two years and have applied for permanent residence through a qualifying programme.

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IRCC also reported that 12,400 of the permanent residents admitted outside Quebec during the first six months of 2026 were French-speaking or bilingual.

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Canada’s target is for French-speaking immigrants to account for 9 per cent of permanent resident admissions outside Quebec in 2026.

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The federal government has sought to increase francophone immigration through measures including French-language category-based selection under Express Entry.

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Of the 114,865 invitations to apply issued through Express Entry in 2026, 39.6 per cent had gone to French-speaking candidates.

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With just over 40 per cent of its adjusted annual target achieved by mid-year, Canada will need to significantly increase permanent resident admissions during the second half of 2026 to meet its target of 446,000 newcomers.

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