Canada admitted 182,100 new permanent residents between January and June 2026, according to data published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and reported by Legit.ng, citing CIC News. Under the government’s standard permanent-residence target of 380,000 for the year, that leaves the country 34,200 admissions short of the 190,000 pace needed by the midpoint — 155,800 were admitted against that yardstick, with the remainder coming through two one-time 2026/27 initiatives.
Economic immigration recorded the steepest shortfall: 89,200 people were admitted through streams such as Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program by 30 June, against a full-year target of 239,800 — 30,700 behind the required pace. Family-class admissions bucked the trend, running ahead of schedule: 45,100 people were admitted against an 84,000 annual target, 3,100 more than needed to stay on pace.
The two one-time streams introduced for 2026 and 2027 — covering protected persons and certain in-Canada workers already living in the country — admitted 15,000 of a 46,000 target and 11,300 of a 20,000 target respectively by the midpoint. Outside Quebec, 12,400 of the permanent residents admitted in the first half were French-speaking or bilingual, against a goal that this group make up 9 per cent of admissions outside the province for the year.
References
Legit.ng – Canada Welcomes 182,100 New Permanent Residents in H1 2026
