Canada’s two one-time PR initiatives: 33,000 workers and 115,000 protected persons

Alongside its 380,000 permanent resident target, Canada’s 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan announced two one-time initiatives that run through 2026 and 2027: one for up to 33,000 workers already in Canada, and one for up to 115,000 protected persons. IRCC is explicit that the people admitted under them are in addition to, not part of, the plan’s targets.

What matters most about both is what they are not. Neither is a new program you can apply to. Each one speeds up permanent residence applications IRCC already holds. If you are covered, you do not need to do anything; if you are not, these measures do not open a new door.

The In-Canada Workers Initiative: up to 33,000 workers

Announced in Budget 2025, the In-Canada Workers Initiative accelerates permanent residence for up to 33,000 work permit holders in 2026 and 2027. IRCC aims to admit at least 20,000 of them in 2026 and the rest in 2027.

According to IRCC’s May 4, 2026 announcement, it is initially accelerating applications from work permit holders who:

• applied for permanent residence through the Provincial Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, the community immigration pilots, the caregiver pilots or the Agri-Food Pilot; and
• have been living in smaller communities in Canada for two years or more.

Applicants do not need to take any action. IRCC says it will keep processing, within the regular levels plan space, the applications of workers who are not eligible for the initiative. The Agri-Food Pilot itself has closed; IRCC is still processing applications it accepted before May 14, 2025.

Progress so far. IRCC reported 3,600 workers granted permanent residence under the initiative between January 1 and February 28, 2026, and about 13,000 from January to July 2026 — roughly 65% of its 2026 goal of 20,000.

Protected persons: up to 115,000 applications

The second initiative processes permanent residence applications from up to 115,000 protected persons in Canada and their in-Canada dependants over 2026 and 2027. IRCC intends to grant permanent residence to 46,000 of them in 2026.

IRCC says it is focusing on people who:

• received protected person status after a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board on an asylum claim, or by IRCC through a pre-removal risk assessment, and have applied for permanent residence; or
• are a spouse, common-law partner or child already living in Canada and listed as an accompanying dependant on that application.

Applications are considered automatically, based on available space: IRCC says you do not need to contact it or meet any extra requirement. Applicants who will live in Quebec are not eligible for processing under this initiative.

One detail comes from a different source. In its response to House of Commons petition e-6601, the government said the initiative covers applications submitted on or before August 15, 2025. IRCC’s own pages do not repeat that date, so a later application is not clearly in or out.

Progress so far. About 20,900 protected persons and dependants became permanent residents under the initiative from January to July 2026, against the 2026 goal of 46,000.

Why the government is doing this

IRCC ties both measures to its commitment to recalibrate the immigration system and reduce Canada’s temporary population to less than 5% of the total population by the end of 2027. The worker initiative does that directly, by moving people who are already working here from temporary to permanent status.

Protected persons are different: they are not temporary residents, and can stay as long as they keep their protected status. For them, the plan describes the measure as recognising the permanent status of people Canada has already decided to protect, which speeds up their integration and their path to citizenship.

What this means for you

If you hold a work permit and have already applied for PR

Check which program you applied through and how long you have lived in your community. If both match the criteria above, the initiative may already be moving your file; there is nothing to submit. Keep your status valid while you wait — our work permit extension guide sets out the timing — and answer any IRCC request quickly.

If you are a worker who has not applied yet

The initiative accelerates existing applications; it is not a pathway you can enter now. Your route is still the regular program — Express Entry, a provincial stream or a community pilot — within the levels plan targets.

If you are a protected person

If your status came from the IRB or a PRRA and you have applied for permanent residence to live outside Quebec, the initiative may already cover your application. Keep your address and contact details up to date with IRCC. If you have not applied yet, you can still apply as a protected person; whether a new application falls within the initiative is not clear from IRCC’s pages, but the plan keeps 20,000 places a year for protected persons in Canada and their dependants abroad. Our refugee travel document and refugee work permit guides cover the documents people commonly need while they wait.

What to do next

If you are not sure whether your application falls under either initiative, the answer usually sits in your file: the program you applied through, where you have lived, and how your protected status was decided.

A licensed RCIC at our Brampton or London office can review your file and set out the routes that genuinely fit. Request a consultation. General information only, not legal advice; IRCC makes all final decisions.

Sources: IRCC, Supplementary Information for the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan; IRCC news release, May 4, 2026; IRCC backgrounder, Understanding the one-time In-Canada Workers Initiative; IRCC, Understanding permanent residence numbers in Canada (approximate figures, data as of July 31, 2026); IRCC, application guide for protected persons; government response to petition e-6601.