CIC News on Sunday, 23 August, 2026 reported that Canada admitted 182,100 new permanent residents in the first half of 2026, reaching 40.8 per cent of its effective annual target of 446,000, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The figure, according to the news medium, covers admissions under Canada’s regular immigration programme as well as two one-time initiatives for protected persons and certain workers already living in the country.
Under Canada’s regular permanent residence target of 380,000 for 2026, IRCC admitted 155,800 new permanent residents between January 1 and June 30.
The figure was 34,200 below the 190,000 admissions required by the halfway point to remain on track for the annual target.
The economic immigration category recorded the largest shortfall.
The category, which includes programmes such as Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program, accounted for 89,200 permanent resident admissions by June 30.
This was against a full-year target of 239,800 and 30,700 below the pace required at the halfway point.
Family-class admissions, however, remained ahead of schedule.
Canada admitted 45,100 permanent residents through the family category during the first six months of the year, compared with a 2026 target of 84,000.
The figure was 3,100 above the pace required to meet the annual target.
The family class includes spouses, partners and dependants sponsored by Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as well as applicants under the Parents and Grandparents Programme.
Canada also introduced two one-time initiatives covering protected persons and certain workers already living in the country for 2026 and 2027.
For 2026, the government set targets of 46,000 protected persons and 20,000 in-Canada workers under the initiatives.
By June 30, IRCC had admitted 15,000 protected persons and 11,300 in-Canada workers.
The latest figures also showed that 12,400 permanent residents admitted outside Quebec during the first half of 2026 were French-speaking or bilingual.
Canada has set a target for French-speaking and bilingual permanent residents to account for nine per cent of permanent residence admissions outside Quebec in 2026.
The figures indicate that Canada has made substantial progress towards its overall 2026 permanent residence target, although admissions under the regular programme, particularly through economic immigration, remain below the pace required to meet the annual target.
Source: The Punch online
