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

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.

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.

An additional 26,300 permanent residents were admitted 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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.