RismadarVoice Reporters
August 23, 2026
Canada admitted 182,100 new permanent residents between January and June 2026, putting the country behind the pace required to meet its adjusted immigration target for the year.
New data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on August 18 showed that 155,800 permanent residents were admitted through the country’s main immigration categories, while another 26,300 obtained permanent residence through two one-time initiatives targeting protected persons and workers already living in Canada.
The 182,100 admissions represent 40.8 per cent of Canada’s adjusted 2026 target of 446,000 permanent residents.
The original federal immigration plan had set a target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions for 2026. However, the inclusion of the two special initiatives increased the effective target to 446,000.
To meet that adjusted target, Canada would need to admit another 263,900 permanent residents between July and December.
Economic immigration accounted for the largest proportion of permanent resident admissions during the first half of the year.
IRCC recorded 89,200 economic-class admissions by June 30, compared with an annual target of 239,800.
At the halfway point, Canada was therefore about 30,700 admissions behind the pace required to meet its economic immigration target.
The economic category includes programmes such as Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the Atlantic Immigration Program, federal business programmes and various economic pilot schemes.
Canada admitted 45,100 permanent residents through the family class during the first six months of 2026.
With an annual target of 84,000, the country was approximately 3,100 admissions ahead of the pace needed to meet its target by the end of the year.
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.
A further 17,900 permanent residents were admitted under the refugees and protected persons category by June 30.
Canada’s 2026 target for the category is 49,300, leaving the country about 6,750 admissions below the halfway-year pace.
The category includes government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees, as well as people already in Canada who have been granted protection by the Immigration and Refugee Board or through the pre-removal risk assessment process.
Canada’s 2026 immigration figures also include two temporary programmes designed to provide permanent residence to protected persons and workers already living in the country.
The government plans to admit: 46,000 protected persons and 20,000 in-Canada workers
By June 30, IRCC had admitted 15,000 protected persons and 11,300 in-Canada workers through the initiatives.
That represents 33 per cent of the protected-person target and 57 per cent of the in-Canada worker target.
The In-Canada Workers Initiative targets eligible skilled workers who have lived in a rural Canadian community for at least two years and applied for permanent residence through a qualifying programme.
IRCC also reported that 12,400 permanent residents admitted outside Quebec during the first half of 2026 were French-speaking or bilingual.
Canada aims for French-speaking immigrants to account for 9 per cent of permanent resident admissions outside Quebec in 2026.
The federal government has introduced measures to increase francophone immigration, including French-language category-based selection through Express Entry.
Of the 114,865 Express Entry invitations issued in 2026, 39.6 per cent had gone to French-speaking candidates.
With only 40.8 per cent of its adjusted annual target achieved by mid-year, Canada would need to substantially increase permanent resident admissions during the remaining six months of 2026 to reach its 446,000 target.
The figures suggest that while family-class and some special immigration streams are progressing relatively well, economic immigration and refugee admissions remain below the pace required for their respective annual targets.
