Canada Admits 182,100 New Permanent Residents in H1 2026, Falls Short of Pace in Key Categories

Canada admitted 182,100 new permanent residents in the first half of 2026, achieving 40.8% of its annual immigration goal, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The figures encompass admissions through Canada's standard immigration pathways as well as two special initiatives aimed at protected persons and certain workers already in the country. For the regular immigration program, which has an annual target of 380,000, Canada admitted 155,800 individuals between January 1 and June 30. This number is 34,200 below the pace needed to meet the yearly objective.

The economic immigration category, a key component of the regular program that includes streams like Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program, experienced the most significant shortfall. It accounted for 89,200 permanent resident admissions by the end of June, against a full-year target of 239,800. This was 30,700 admissions behind the required halfway mark.

In contrast, family-class immigration is ahead of schedule. Canada welcomed 45,100 permanent residents through family sponsorship in the first six months of the year, surpassing the pace needed to reach the annual target of 84,000 by 3,100 admissions. This category includes sponsored spouses, partners, dependants, and applicants under the Parents and Grandparents Program.

Additionally, Canada's one-time initiatives for 2026 are progressing. The government aimed to admit 46,000 protected persons and 20,000 in-Canada workers under these programs. By June 30, 15,000 protected persons and 11,300 in-Canada workers had been admitted. The data also revealed that 12,400 permanent residents admitted outside Quebec were French-speaking or bilingual, aligning with Canada's target for such admissions to constitute nine percent of the total outside Quebec in 2026.