Canada’s non-permanent residents made up 6.7% of the population in July, above the government’s goal of less than 5%, as an annual immigration update may feature in the Nov. 5 budget.
The Canadian Press reported Tuesday that the budget will contain an annual update on immigration levels, citing an unnamed government source familiar with the plan. Department of Finance Canada’s public notice confirms the budget date but does not mention immigration levels.
Ottawa’s current plan schedules 380,000 permanent-resident admissions annually for 2026, 2027 and 2028. It also targets 385,000 new temporary resident arrivals in 2026 and 370,000 in each of 2027 and 2028. Those arrival targets cover new workers and students.
During 2026 and 2027, transition measures are set to cover roughly 115,000 Protected Persons on a path to permanent residence and as many as 33,000 temporary workers. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says those admissions are additional to the annual target, and Protected Persons are not temporary residents.
The government aims to reduce the temporary population to less than 5% of Canada's total population by the end of 2027. Statistics Canada estimated that 2,779,774 non-permanent residents, or 6.7% of the population, were in Canada on July 1, 2026.
IRCC’s 2025 annual report said recent population growth had outpaced the country’s capacity to support newcomers and strained housing, health care and schools. IRCC says the levels plan is intended to align immigration with community capacity and labor market needs.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act sets Nov. 1 as the annual report's tabling deadline, with an extension of up to 30 sitting days if a House of Parliament is not sitting then. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is scheduled to table Budget 2026 on Thursday, Nov. 5.
