Half a Year In, IRCC Still Hasn’t Launched Some of the Promised Immigration Programs

Canada entered 2026 with a long list of promised changes in the immigration space. The 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Budget 2025, and a series of announcements set expectations for new pathways, new immigration programs, and a more targeted approach to attracting skilled workers. Now that the year is half over, let’s look at where IRCC has failed to deliver so far.

Key Takeaways 

• Several Express Entry categories, including STEM, have not been used in 2026. The STEM category has not seen a draw in more than two years.
• A new federal entrepreneur pilot, an accelerated pathway for H-1B holders, and a sector-specific stream for agriculture and fish processing workers have all been announced but not launched.
• The Parents and Grandparents Program and the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots are both paused with no reopening date confirmed.

Several Express Entry Categories for 2026 Have Seen No Draws

Express Entry’s category-based selection system allows IRCC to issue targeted invitations to candidates with French proficiency or work experience in specific occupations. Ten categories were identified as priorities in 2026, but not all of them are being used.

The STEM category has not issued a single invitation in more than two years. Across 2026 specifically, draws have focused on candidates in French-language proficiency, health care and social services, skilled trades, physicians with Canadian experience, and senior managers. The following categories have not had a single draw in the first half of 2026:

• Researchers with Canadian work experience
• Education occupations
• Transport occupations
• Skilled military recruits
• STEM occupations

Of these, researchers and skilled military recruits were both identified as priorities for the first time in February 2026.

The ministerial instructions governing category-based selection do not require every category to be used within a given period. It is possible that IRCC won’t need to use a given category because enough qualified candidates with experience in the occupation were invited through other economic programs, such as the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) or the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

However, for candidates who entered the Express Entry pool specifically because their occupation or background aligned with one of these categories, the lack of draws is likely disappointing.

Programs Paused Without a Reopening Date

Parents and Grandparents Program

IRCC is currently not accepting new Parents and Grandparents Program sponsorship applications until further notice.

First, let’s look at how this program works. Sponsors first submit an interest-to-sponsor form, which enters them into a pool. IRCC then invites a set number of people from that pool to submit a full application each year. IRCC has not accepted new interest-to-sponsor forms since 2020, so the pool has not been refreshed in five years.

The most recent intake, in July 2025, invited sponsors from that 2020 pool to apply. Since January 2026, no new applications have been accepted either.

The 2026-2028 Levels Plan includes a target of 15,000 PGP admissions per year. Those spaces are being filled by processing applications received by IRCC in 2025. IRCC has not provided a timeline for when the next intake will open.

For families who aren’t already in the interest-to-sponsor pool or who are in the pool but have not received an invitation to apply, the Super Visa remains the most practical option for now. It allows parents and grandparents to stay in Canada for up to five years per visit. However, no immediate pathway to permanent residence is available.

Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots

The Home Care Worker Immigration pilots were introduced in June 2024, offering direct pathways to permanent residence for child care providers and home support workers. Applications opened on March 31, 2025, with each pilot offering 2,750 spots annually. Both filled almost immediately, with many eligible applicants unable to submit before the cap was reached due to the volume of traffic on IRCC’s website.

In December 2025, IRCC announced that intake would be paused until further notice and confirmed it would not reopen in March 2026 as expected. As a result, there is currently no PR pathway dedicated to caregivers. Stream B, designed for caregivers without Canadian work experience, never opened at all under either pilot. IRCC has said future updates will be shared publicly, but so far, none have been.

The TR-to-PR Initiative: Not a New Pathway After All

A headline item in the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan was a one-time initiative to fast-track up to 33,000 skilled temporary workers to permanent residence over 2026 and 2027. The announcement targeted workers who had established roots in Canada, paid taxes, and worked in in-demand sectors, with a focus on those in rural communities.

When details arrived in April 2026, what emerged was more limited than many anticipated. The initiative did not open a new, standalone application program. Rather it only fast-tracked applications for select candidates who had already applied for PR under the PNP, Atlantic Immigration Program, and other regional programs.