Canada's population reached an estimated 41,798,407 on July 1, 2026, according to the latest quarterly demographic estimates from Statistics Canada. The population grew by 80,343 people, or 0.2%, during the second quarter of 2026. Permanent immigration served as the primary growth driver, adding 99,148 newcomers to the country, while the population of non-permanent residents decreased by 18,875 due to fewer international study and work permit holders. Natural increase contrib

New Brunswick published the results of its recent draws using an expression of interest system to streamline immigration applications for the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). From September 10 to September 18, 2026, the province conducted four new draws and issued 610 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to qualified candidates. The new draws were conducted under the New Brunswick Express Entry Stream – Employment in New Brun

Canada's population reached an estimated 41,798,407 on July 1, 2026, according to the latest quarterly demographic estimates from Statistics Canada. The population grew by 80,343 people, or 0.2%, during the second quarter of 2026. Permanent immigration served as the primary growth driver, adding 99,148 newcomers to the country, while the population of non-permanent residents decreased by 18,875 due to fewer international study and work permit holders. Natural increase contrib

Newfoundland and Labrador has launched public consultations to guide the development of the province's 2026 – 2031 Population Growth Strategy. Designed to address labour shortages, support economic expansion, and build resilient regional communities, the government policy initiative focuses on four key pillars: growing the workforce, growing families, expanding regional settlement, and increasing overall in-migration. Public feedback gathered through the EngageNL platform, al

Hundreds of Iranian nationals residing in Canada face potential inadmissibility after receiving procedural fairness letters from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) about mandatory military service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Since Ottawa designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, former conscripts who performed non-combat, administrative duties risk losing work permits and permanent residency status. Iranian nationals and immigrat

Canada's official languages education sector experienced a 13% year-over-year decline in student enrolments and a 19% drop in student weeks during 2025, according to Languages Canada's annual survey. The downturn was primarily driven by cumulative immigration policy shifts, study permit restrictions, and visa uncertainties introduced between 2023 and mid-2025. Data show that only 13% of 2025 language students entered via study permits, while 40% used Electronic Travel Authori

Escalade Transportation Inc. and Hafiz Tariq Ayub face three charges each under Section 22 of Saskatchewan's Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act for alleged violations occurring between November 2022 and August 2023. The Regina-based employer is accused of distributing false or misleading information, misrepresenting job duties, pay, and terms of employment, and taking unfair advantage of foreign workers' fear or lack of experience. The provincial Ministry

The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) submitted official feedback regarding proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations published in the Canada Gazette on August 15, 2026. Welcoming the regulatory shift, the organization reiterated its long-standing stance that individuals who have experienced or face risk from gender-based violence (GBV) should be protected from immigration detention. The proposed regulatory changes aim to require Canada Borde

On September 17, 2026, the Government of British Columbia held a new invitation round under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP). The province issued 33 invitations to apply to candidates through the Temporary Rural/Remote Health Support Initiative. The invited candidates had a minimum score of 60 points. This targeted stream supports health authority employees in eligible cleaning and security roles who work in rural or remote communities across the provin

The total number of pending refugee protection claims before the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) fell to 259,085 by the end of August 2026, marking a continuous decline from a peak exceeding 300,000 cases in late 2025. Official monthly statistics provided by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) show that intake of new claims remained low at 2,898 in August 2026, down sharply from 13,235 claims reported in August 2024. Meanwhile, RPD finalizations reached 11,590

On September 15, 2026, Saskatchewan reached the position limit for the Food Services sector in the year's final capped-sector intake window. Employers submitted Employer Position Assessments covering all 175 positions available for Food Services, leaving no remaining positions to be accepted under the September window. The Food Services window opened at 1:30 p.m. and was the last of the staggered capped-sector intake windows scheduled for 2026. Employers in capped sectors cou

IRCC has released updated application processing data as of July 31, 2026. Since the beginning of the year, the department has finalized 1,832,065 temporary residence applications, including 126,230 study permit applications and 1,530,125 visitor visa applications. Another 394,325 temporary residence applications had not yet been finalized. In permanent residence processing, IRCC reported 255,325 pending economic immigration applications, 165,445 family-class applications and

On September 10, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams except the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Global Talent Stream. Global Talent Stream - 10 business days Agricultural stream – 25 business days (+2 days) Seasonal Agricultu

The Manitoba Government is allocating $630,000 to community organizations through its From the Ground Up program to strengthen job skills, mentorship, and wellness initiatives for local youth. Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard announced the new funding, which targets barriers to employment and community participation. A portion of the grant goes directly to organizations like Development Assistance International, which works directly with newcomer youth ad

Ontario's OINP has completed its program redesign: as of the June 26, 2026 amendment to O. Reg. 422/17, the former eight-stream Expression of Interest system is closed to new entries, replaced by the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream, which covers job offers across all NOC TEER categories plus a pathway for self-employed physicians. Files still in the legacy streams should be reviewed for transition impact. (Source: Ontario) Alberta's AAIP updated its Rural Entrepreneur,

On August 24, 2026, IRCC issued a new temporary public policy for foreign nationals of Palestine who arrive in Canada as temporary residents on or before September 30, 2027. The policy takes effect August 1, 2026 and expires December 30, 2027, and lets eligible arrivals apply from within Canada for fee-exempt study permits, open work permits, and temporary resident permits, and move between temporary resident streams. (Source: IRCC) A companion temporary public policy, also d

On August 28, 2026, the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francisation et Integration (MIFI) published the results of the 87th invitation round in Quebec’s online system Arrima, which were conducted on August 27, 2026. MIFI invited 87 candidates under Stream 1 (Highly qualified and specialized skills), around 580 candidates under Stream 2 (Intermediate and manual skills), 109 candidates under Stream 3 (Regulated professions), and 21 candidates under Stream 4 (Exceptional talent

New refugee protection claims in Canada dropped significantly by mid-2026, falling to 2,652 cases in July after reaching over 11,000 during the same period last year. Higher processing capacity at the Refugee Protection Division helped lower the overall pending inventory to 268,058 claims, driven by a surge of 13,034 finalized cases in June alone. In contrast, pending refugee appeals continued a steady upward trend, climbing close to 6,000 open files. The latest official numb

On August 17, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the Express Entry draw #435 for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. The Government of Canada issued 442 Invitations to Apply (ITAs), and the round’s cut-off score was 760 points, 8 points fewer than the previous PNP-targeted draw. The tie-breaking rule for this round was August 07, 2026, at 18:01:56 UTC. As of August 16, there were 226,859 profiles registered in the Express Entry pool. This

The Ontario Government has updated regulations for Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program to restrict financial support to legal Canadian residents. Effective immediately, the amended rules under the Ontario Works Act and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act exclude individuals residing in Canada without legal status. Temporary residents, including international students, temporary workers, and tourists, are also ineligible for these social assistance