Immigration propels the Canadian economy and ensures its future prosperity. As we continue to face an aging population and severe labor shortages in important industries such as health care, transportation, and house construction, immigrants are essential to promote innovation, develop the economy, and support local companies and communities.

The Right Honourable The 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan was submitted today by Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship. This strategy is designed to promote economic growth while balancing challenges in sectors such as housing, healthcare, and infrastructure. It provides a reasonable path for long-term and sustained population expansion.

With this Levels Plan, the Government of Canada maintains its aim of 485,000 permanent residents for 2024 while also taking the final step toward reaching 500,000 in 2025. Beginning in 2026, the government will cap the number of permanent residents at 500,000, giving time for proper integration while continuing to bolster Canada’s labor market. The government also intends to rebalance the number of temporary resident admissions over the coming year to ensure that this component of our immigration system is likewise sustainable.

The federal government will continue to collaborate closely with provinces and territories, businesses, stakeholders, and Indigenous peoples to assist Canada in adapting to the reality of immigration-driven population expansion. An Immigration System for Canada’s Future—a study that lays out a route to better our immigration system for immigrants, companies, and communities—also guides this approach. Together, these reforms will keep individuals at the center of our immigration policy and ensure that immigrants have the resources they need to thrive in their new lives, such as settlement assistance and access to housing.

The revised Levels Plan also considers the significant accomplishments made by IRCC in the last year, including new digital technologies and enhanced client service, which have boosted processing capacity and decreased application backlogs. Canada will continue to help families stay together, bring the skills and talent needed to help companies grow their businesses, and maintain our humanitarian tradition so that the country can benefit from the strength and diversity newcomers bring to our communities.