The one-time 2027 measure is optional and has no published provincial allocations or detailed eligibility rules yet
NetNewsLedger National News Desk | Nov. 13, 2026
Thunder Bay ON – National News Service — Ottawa is offering provinces and territories extra immigration space to move as many as 100,000 workers and their family members already in Canada to permanent residence in 2027.
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab released new details Thursday about a one-time measure first outlined in Budget 2026. The plan could give provinces more control over which established workers they retain, but it is a ceiling rather than a promise that 100,000 people will be approved.
How the measure would work
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said provinces and territories will be offered additional Provincial Nominee Program allocations. Each jurisdiction may decide how much of the extra space to use for workers who are already established in their communities and meet local labour needs.
The allocations are intended to be used by March 31, 2027, for admissions during 2027. Governments may also identify workers who have already applied for permanent residence and are waiting for a decision.
IRCC said those files may include the Atlantic Immigration Program and several federal streams that are now closed to new applications, such as the Start-up Visa Program, Self-Employed Persons Program, Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programs.
The measure does not reopen those programs. IRCC said people with applications already in the system do not need to contact the department simply because of the additional spaces.
Key details remain open
The department did not publish a province-by-province breakdown, selection criteria, processing targets or a method for dividing spaces if jurisdictions request more than the available total. It also did not say how many of the 100,000 spaces may be used for workers and how many for accompanying family members.
The government argues that selecting people who are already working and living in Canada will help employers fill shortages without adding the same immediate pressure as new arrivals on housing and public services.
Migrant Rights Network has welcomed permanent status as a goal but criticized the wider immigration plan for leaving access dependent on employers and narrow selection streams. The migrant-led coalition has called for permanent residence for all migrants, including undocumented and seasonal workers.
The worker stream is one part of a broader one-time plan to transition up to 200,000 people already in Canada to permanent residence. Separate spaces cover some protected persons and people with existing Hong Kong, Ukraine family, humanitarian and family-class files.
Provinces and territories must now decide whether to participate and whom they want to prioritize. Their choices will determine how much of the federal ceiling is actually used.
Source notes
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, worker-retention announcement, published Nov. 12, 2026. canada.ca
- IRCC, 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan backgrounder, published Nov. 5, 2026. canada.ca
- Migrant Rights Network, analysis of the 2027 changes, published Nov. 9, 2026. migrantrights.ca
