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Canada is set to welcome nearly 1.5 million new permanent residents over the next three years, according to the new targets recently announced by Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
Canada does not foresee a cut to immigration levels and plans to hold its target of annual newcomers steady at 500,000 people starting in 2026, according to plans tabled in Parliament by Miller. A closer look at the data and breakdown by category can give an idea of who these new immigrants headed to Canada will be.
Economic migrants are projected to make up the largest chunk of newcomers, with 281,135 economic migrants projected in 2024 and 301,250 per year in 2025 and 2026.
Family reunification numbers will also go up, from 114,000 in 2024 to 118,000 in 2025 and 2026.
The spouses, partners and children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents are expected to number 84,000 annually, while parents and grandparents are projected to be at 34,000.
While the number of economic immigrants and family members will go up over time, newcomers in other categories are expected to go down. Even though the total number of new immigrants will go up, the number of refugees and protected persons that Canada welcomes as new permanent residents will go down from 76,115 in 2024 to 72,750 in 2025 and 2026.
The number of new immigrants welcomed annually under humanitarian and compassionate grounds will go down from 13,750 in 2024 to 8,000 in 2025 and 2026.
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