A new report from Royal Bank of Canada warns that Canada's immigration system has lost its edge following recent population shocks and policy volatility. The report emphasizes that while immigration remains essential to combat population aging and shrinking workforce participation, public sentiment has turned negative due to systemic pressures. RBC argues that targeted sub-categories within Express Entry are undermining the merit-based points system by allowing lower-scoring

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has updated its Skills Immigration registration pool statistics, reporting a total of 8,013 active candidates as of September 1, 2026. According to the latest program update released on September 2, 2026, candidates scoring between 100 and 109 form the largest single group in the pool with 1,559 registrations, followed closely by 1,444 candidates in the 90 to 99 score range. Only eight candidates hold scores of 150 or h

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

The C.D. Howe Institute’s immigration targets council is urging the Federal Government to implement further reductions to Canada’s temporary resident population and establish better data collection on departures. Parisa Mahboubi, chair of the council, cautioned that the government lacks accurate tracking of whether temporary residents leave after their permits expire, leaving policymakers to rely on assumptions. Although new international student and temporary worker arrivals

A joint study by Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada released on August 26, 2026, reveals significant disparities in economic well-being across income levels. Based on pooled data from the Survey of Financial Security, recent immigrant families have less wealth than Canadian-born families across all income quartiles, with the gap widening most at higher income levels. While compositional factors such as homeownership rates, pension plan access,

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated the financial capacity guidelines for international students applying for a Canadian study permit. Effective September 1, 2026, single applicants must demonstrate $23,448 in available funds for living expenses, excluding tuition and transportation costs. The required amounts scale higher for accompanying family members, reaching $35,888 for a family of three. Applicants must provide clear documentation showing av

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released updated application figures showing over 1.5 million temporary residence applications finalized between January 1 and June 30, 2026. The inventory of pending applications for students, foreign workers, and visitors stood at 401,280 files. Processing priorities include expedited two-week study permit processing for PhD students and 14-day work permit streams for up to 5,000 licensed doctors under provincial nominee p

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has secured an additional 1,000 nominations from the Federal Government, raising the total number of allocations to 6,254 for 2026. These new spaces will support the revised program priorities announced earlier this year on April 23. The provincial authorities confirmed that they intend to issue the full nomination quota by December 31, 2026. This extra allocation gives economic immigration candidates increased opportun

Foreign home care workers in Canada are facing potential employment gaps after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) clarified that applicants under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots are not eligible for bridging open work permits. The exclusion means applicants cannot rely on a BOWP to keep working while their permanent residence applications are processed and may need to find another way to maintain their temporary status and work authorization as existi

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

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

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) has extended the registration period for its Temporary Rural and Remote Health Support Initiative. Eligible candidates now have until October 7, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. to submit their registrations. Provincial authorities announced the extension to accommodate potential disruptions caused by regional wildfire activity across the province. The temporary initiative supports healthcare staffing needs in rural and remote commun

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) updated its guidance for the Rural Entrepreneur, Graduate Entrepreneur, and Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur streams on August 12, 2026. The new details clarify how program officers assess the existing economic establishment requirement during the application and monitoring phases. Official eligibility criteria remain unchanged. Applicants with files currently under review will have a chance to provide extra information if concern

Canada’s language training sector faces a severe crisis as student enrolments and study weeks dropped significantly in 2025. According to Languages Canada’s latest report, international student enrolments declined by 13% while total student weeks dropped by 19% year over year. Sector leaders attribute the downturn directly to federal immigration policies, including international student caps and altered visa processing. Despite contributing over $1 billion to the national eco

The Government of New Brunswick has secured nearly $10 million in federal funding through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program to help internationally trained professionals integrate into the provincial workforce. Distributed across WorkingNB, post-secondary relations, and Skilled Trades NB, the funding targets critical shortages in health care, engineering, skilled trades, and education. Planned initiatives include wage subsidies for 100 internationally educated nurses

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) received an official allocation top-up of 200 additional provincial nomination slots from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This brings Alberta's total nomination cap for 2026 up to 6,603 certificates. The provincial government confirmed that these extra spots will be distributed across priority streams to help address urgent regional labour market shortages. The update enables Alberta to issue more permanent

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has issued an operational update regarding open work permits for permanent residence applicants under LMIA exemption code A70. The revised guidance reorganizes processing instructions under Section R207 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Separate instructions now cover spouses and common-law partners, protected persons, applicants approved on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and eligible family members in

The Government of the Northwest Territories has secured an additional 103 nominee spots from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), raising its 2026 total allocation to 300. This increase restores the territorial program to its previous 2024 and 2025 capacity following ongoing government advocacy. To accommodate the additional allocations, territorial officials added a new Expression of Interest draw for August 26, 2026, with an application submission deadline o

Nova Scotia will introduce non-refundable application fees for the Nova Scotia Nominee Program starting September 1, 2026. The new structure sets a $1,000 fee for worker streams, including Skilled Worker, Nova Scotia Graduate, and Nova Scotia: Express Entry, while the Entrepreneur stream fee will be $2,000. Submitting an Expression of Interest remains free, and fees only apply once a candidate is selected from the EOI pool for assessment. Candidates selected on or after Septe

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has introduced the Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge Temporary Public Policy, allowing Manitoba to continue issuing provincial nominations for eligible workers until December 31, 2027. The measure is expected to benefit up to 2,700 foreign workers who previously received work permit support letters under the 2024 or 2025 temporary public policies and are still awaiting provincial nomination. To qualify, applicants must cu