Is Canada About to Increase Immigration Levels for 2027?

Although Canada has not announced plans to increase immigration targets in 2027, in a recent interview with The New York Times, the Canadian Prime Minister said that immigration levels will eventually be increased again, raising questions about how soon that shift could happen.

For prospective immigrants, international students and foreign workers, this is a notable change in tone after two years dominated by immigration cuts. That said, there is no certainty that those cuts will start being reversed in 2027.

Key Takeaways

• Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will eventually resume a “controlled increase” in its population.
• He did not provide a timeline for when immigration levels could begin increasing again.
• The 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan set the notional targets for 2027 at 380,000 permanent resident admissions and 370,000 temporary resident arrivals.
• The upcoming 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan will confirm or adjust those targets.

But this leaves the most important question unanswered: when will Canada’s immigration targets increase?

What Is Canada’s Current Immigration Target for 2027?

Under the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada is targeting 380,000 permanent resident admissions in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Notional figures for 2027 show no planned increase for PR admissions next year.

Temporary resident targets are expected to decrease slightly. Canada currently plans for 370,000 new temporary resident arrivals in 2027, down from 385,000 in 2026.

The international student target is expected to fall from 155,000 new arrivals in 2026 to 150,000 in 2027. The temporary worker target is expected to decrease from 230,000 to 220,000.

Combined, that would mean 15,000 fewer new temporary resident arrivals than currently planned for 2026.

However, the 2027 temporary resident figures are notional targets, meaning they can still change.

IRCC is currently developing the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan, which will replace the existing plan this fall.

Despite the Prime Minister’s comments, the government is still working toward reducing temporary residents to less than five percent of Canada’s population by the end of 2027. As of Q2 2026, temporary residents made up 6.69 percent of Canada’s population — still quite far from the targeted number.

Will Canada Increase Immigration in 2027?

At this stage, we simply do not know.

Carney said Canada will eventually return to a “controlled increase” in population, but he did not provide a timeline. He also did not say whether that increase would come through permanent immigration, temporary immigration, or a combination of the two.

There is no certainty that permanent and temporary immigration targets will increase at the same time. The government could potentially increase the permanent resident target while continuing with planned reductions in new international student and temporary worker arrivals until the end of 2027.

For prospective newcomers, Carney’s comments are still a positive sign after two years of immigration cuts. They suggest the government does not necessarily see lower immigration levels as a permanent direction for Canada.

We may get our first indication of what’s to come when the government releases the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan later this year. Until then, any prediction about exactly when immigration levels will start increasing again or what the 2027 immigration targets will be is guesswork.