Canada’s immigration authorities say they are aiming to transition at least 20,000 workers already living in the country to permanent residence in 2026.

The move is part of the country’s wider plan to manage immigration levels and address labour shortages in key sectors.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada made this known in a statement posted on its official X handle on Monday.

The department said the measure forms part of its one-time In-Canada Workers Initiative announced in Budget 2025, which is designed to accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 temporary workers to permanent residence in 2026 and 2027.

“IRCC is aiming to transition at least 20,000 workers to permanent residence in 2026 and the remainder in 2027.

“We are making progress and are on track to meet these goals. Between January 1 and February 28, 2026, 3,600 workers were granted permanent residence under this initiative.

“Eligible applicants being granted permanent residence were already selected through occupation-driven pilots and well-established regional immigration programs led by provinces, territories and community partners, as well as occupation-driven pilots. Applicants do not need to take any action,” the statement read.

It added: “The one-time In-Canada Workers Initiative was announced in Budget 2025 and will help reduce existing permanent residence inventories to ensure that workers with ties to Canada are able to continue contributing in the long term.”

As part of the programme, IRCC said it is prioritising eligible applications from existing inventories of work permit holders who have applied for permanent residence through various pathways, including the Provincial Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, community immigration pilots, caregiver pilots, and the Agri-Food Pilot.

To qualify, applicants must have lived in smaller communities in Canada for two years or more and must already be supporting local economic needs in those regions.

“IRCC is initially accelerating eligible applications from existing inventories of work permit holders who have applied for permanent residence. These eligible workers are already supporting their smaller and rural communities’ labour and economic needs,” the statement said.

It added that IRCC will grant permanent residence to applicants across several in-demand sectors in rural communities facing labour gaps.