Canada’s federal government is preparing to launch and reopen several permanent residence (PR) pathways in 2026, with a strong focus on transitioning more temporary residents already living in the country. The upcoming year will also see new or expanded PR routes for H-1B professionals, construction workers, agricultural and fish processing employees, and refugee-skilled candidates. Multiple pilots that reached their caps in 2025 are expected to reopen. As many details remain pending, 2026 is shaping up to be a significant year of structural updates to Canada’s immigration system.

Ontario is preparing to introduce new permanent residence pathways under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), targeting newcomers in fields such as research, culinary arts, and entrepreneurship. Immigration Minister David Piccini announced on November 25 that the province intends to launch a new “talent stream” to recognize excellence in these sectors. With Bill 30 (the Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025) receiving Royal Assent on November 27, the suspension of the Skilled Trades Stream, and expected increases in provincial nomination allocations for 2026, Ontario is restructuring its immigration program to support more targeted and flexible selection mechanisms.

Canada offers multiple immigration pathways for individuals who wish to immigrate through entrepreneurship or business investment, including the federal Start-Up Visa (SUV), several federal work permit categories, provincial entrepreneur programs, and the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program. Each pathway carries distinct requirements related to investment amounts, business experience, language proficiency, and documentation. With frequent policy changes and complex due-diligence procedures, many applicants work with immigration lawyers or licensed consultants to select the right program, prepare documentation, and maintain compliance to improve approval outcomes and protect their investment.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted another Express Entry draw on November 26, 2025, inviting 1,000 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence. This round set a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 531—the lowest CEC cut-off since July—and ended a five-draw streak where the CRS threshold was locked at 533 or 534. To date, IRCC has issued a total of 88,476 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through the Express Entry system in 2025.

On November 20, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, announced that the Conservative Party will introduce a wide-ranging package of amendments to the federal government’s border security and immigration legislation, Bill C-12. She argued that Canada’s immigration system is under intense pressure and must undergo structural reform as soon as possible. The proposed amendments will focus on modernizing asylum procedures, strengthening border enforcement and security screening, adjusting criminality and removal thresholds, and increasing transparency across federal immigration bodies. The initiative comes amid rising asylum numbers, sustained growth in temporary residents, mounting pressure on housing and social services, and heightened scrutiny of immigration-related security reports—highlighting how immigration has become a heated issue in Canada and globally.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has suspended its Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream effective November 14, 2025, following a major program review that identified systemic misrepresentation and potential fraud. As part of the suspension, all in-progress applications will be returned with full refunds. The province states that the program’s current structure must be redesigned to ensure limited nomination spots benefit genuine candidates addressing Ontario’s skilled trades shortages. Affected applicants may submit a new Expression of Interest under another OINP stream if eligible.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released its latest processing time update on November 12, 2025, covering citizenship applications, permanent resident (PR) cards, family sponsorship programs, economic immigration categories, study permits, and work permits. The update reflects real-world timelines for 80% of applications and is refreshed weekly or monthly depending on the category. The latest data shows significant increases in processing times for parents and grandparents under family sponsorship, while Express Entry streams remain stable. Business immigration and several Quebec programs continue to face multi-year backlogs. IRCC emphasizes that processing times are estimates only and can vary depending on an applicant’s location, background checks, case complexity, and IRCC’s operational capacity.

On November 12, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted a new round of Express Entry invitations, issuing 1,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required was 533, and candidates needed to have created their Express Entry profile before 3:39 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on October 17, 2025. To date, IRCC has issued more than 82,000 ITAs in 2025, with CEC, French-language category, and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws remaining key priorities.

The Northwest Territories (NWT) has announced a third application intake window for its Nominee Program (NTNP), running from November 10, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. to November 24, 2025. To complete the 2025 target of 300 nominations, the territory plans to process up to 103 additional eligible applications by year-end and has introduced temporary eligibility adjustments: removal of the work-permit expiry-date restriction, reinstatement of certain 2024 work-experience requirements, and elimination of employer submission caps tied to company size. Applications will be prioritized for candidates whose work permits expire within the next three months, followed by filing date order; if processing exceeds capacity or cannot be finalized by December 23, applications will be withdrawn, with the option to reapply in 2026.

On November 4, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officially released the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, maintaining annual permanent resident targets at 380,000 for the next three years while gradually reducing the number of temporary residents—including international students and foreign workers. The plan aims to balance population growth with Canada’s housing, healthcare, and infrastructure capacity, while increasing the share of economic and francophone immigrants. This Q&A explains the plan’s key points, policy direction, and what it means for prospective applicants.