New IRCC Data Shows 128,865 Received Permanent Residence Between January and May 2026

The first batch of data, current as of May 31, 2026, shows that fewer than 128,900 people became permanent residents between January and May 2026. The data is broken down into PR admissions by category, and IRCC is expected to update figures monthly. Economic immigration, which includes Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, and more, accounted for 73,600 new permanent residents, over 57 percent of the total.

Key Takeaways

• IRCC admitted 128,865 new permanent residents between January and May 2026, toward its overall 2026 target of 380,000.
• Economic immigration accounts for most permanent residents so far, with 73,600 new PRs admitted toward the 239,800 target for 2026.
• Family class is at about 45 percent of its 84,000 target.
• Nearly 9,900 French-speaking permanent residents landed outside Quebec between January and May 2026, putting IRCC at 33 percent of its target.

New Permanent Residents in January to May 2026 Down 24 Percent Over 2025

Canada’s 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan sets an overall target of 380,000 new permanent residents for 2026, with a range of 350,000 to 420,000. IRCC has admitted 128,865 people toward that target between January and May, achieving roughly 33.9 percent of the annual goal in the first five months of the year.

That pace is behind where IRCC would be if admissions were spread evenly across the year. Five months is 41.7 percent of the year, so a proportional pace would put year-to-date PR numbers closer to 158,300.

PR admissions in the first five months of 2026 are down about 24 percent from the same period in 2025, and down about 39 percent from the same period in 2024.

PR Admissions by Month, Y-O-Y Comparison

Economic Immigration

Economic immigration, which includes Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), regional programs such as the Atlantic Immigration Program, and federal pilot programs, remains the largest of the four immigration categories.

Under the levels plan, economic immigration is expected to contribute 239,800 admissions, or roughly 63 percent of the overall PR target for 2026. As of May 2026, 73,600 people had become permanent residents through this category, or about 31 percent of the year’s goal.

Although the IRCC numbers only cover admissions, Moving2Canada’s analysis suggests that two of the largest economic programs — Federal High Skilled and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) — look well-positioned to reach their targets this year.

The Federal High Skilled category, which includes the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program (including category-based selection), is delivered through the Express Entry system and has a target of 109,000 admissions in 2026. Federal High Skilled candidates received roughly 83,700 invitations to apply in the first half of the year, well ahead of last year’s pace. With current processing times running around six months for Canadian Experience Class candidates and seven months for Federal Skilled Worker candidates, most ITAs issued through at least April should reach the permanent residence stage before the end of 2026.

The PNP, targeted at 91,500 admissions in 2026, also has a large pipeline of applications to draw from. As of July 7, 2026, IRCC was processing 103,800 base PNP applications (outside Express Entry) and 12,100 Express Entry-linked PNP applications.

Based on IRCC’s processing time tool, roughly 68,500 of these combined (58,000 base PNP and 10,500 through Express Entry) are expected to be finalized by December 2026. That said, not every finalized application will lead to an admission this year, especially for applicants living outside Canada.

Family Class

The family class category has a target of 84,000 admissions for 2026. The category covers sponsorship of spouses, partners, children, parents, and grandparents. IRCC reported 37,900 new permanent residents in this category between January and May, or about 45 percent of the year’s target, ahead of the overall pace.

Recently, IRCC paused intake of applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP). The department clarified that it still plans to grant permanent residence to 15,000 people through the program this year, in line with the target.

Francophone Immigration Outside Quebec

Canada has committed to a francophone immigration target of 9 percent of all new permanent residents outside Quebec in 2026, rising to 10.5 percent by 2028. That works out to 30,150 French-speaking (or bilingual) permanent residents for the year.

Between January and May 2026, 9,900 French-speaking permanent residents landed outside Quebec. That puts IRCC at about a third of its annual goal after five months.

However, based on the French-category draw activity we’ve seen this year, we fully expect IRCC to meet, if not exceed, this target.

Humanitarian and Compassionate Cases and Others

The humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) and other category is the smallest of the four, targeting 6,900 admissions in 2026. It covers humanitarian and compassionate grounds applications and Canada’s responses to specific situations abroad, such as Ukraine, Sudan, and Hong Kong.

As of May, 3,000 people had been admitted through this category, or about 43 percent of the year’s target.