IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2026 - Introduction to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: the Landscape

Introduction

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) selects and welcomes permanent and temporary residents, and foreign nationals whose skills contribute to Canadian prosperity. It reunites family members, maintains Canada’s humanitarian tradition by welcoming refugees and other people in need of protection, and facilitates the travel, work, study, and stay of visitors, international students and foreign workers. In collaboration with IRCC’s partners (notably Public Safety and the Canada Border Services Agency), the Department conducts the screening of potential permanent and temporary residents to protect the health, safety, and security of Canadians.

IRCC is also responsible for granting and providing proof of citizenship as well as the issuance and control of Canadian passports and other travel documents that facilitate the travel of Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons. The Department builds a stronger Canada by helping newcomers to settle and integrate into Canadian society, and by encouraging and promoting the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Finally, IRCC works internationally to advance global migration policies in a way that supports Canada’s immigration and humanitarian objectives.

The impact of the Department’s work is far-reaching, with important implications for various Cabinet portfolios, other levels of government, domestic and international stakeholders, communities, and for Canadians as a whole. Canada works with international and domestic partners to adapt and respond to complex and changing global migration trends that create both pressures and opportunities.

Overall, the Department’s work is integral to achieving a stronger Canada—a safe and secure country with a shared bond of citizenship and values; a country that draws the best from the world to help build a nation that is economically, socially, and culturally prosperous.

Our Current Context

Changes that have had a large impact on our immigration landscape include returning to sustainable immigration levels after record high volumes of new temporary and permanent residents and people seeking asylum; more frequent and complex humanitarian crises; and a constantly evolving geopolitical and security environment.

Changes in Canada that impact immigration include our aging population (and workforce); economic pressures and changing labour market needs; differences in local and regional needs; innovations in technology; and growing pressures on Canada’s social infrastructure, including housing and healthcare.

IRCC is recalibrating its operational capacity and focusing on financial sustainability, as the department grew in recent years in tandem with the growth in immigration volumes. In 2024, Canada welcomed the largest number of permanent residents (483,640) in Canadian history, and in 2025 the target was reduced to 395,000. The 2026–2028 Levels Plan further reduces immigration targets to put Canada on a trajectory to bring immigration back to sustainable levels. In 2026, Canada plans to welcome 380,000 permanent residents, a 4% reduction from 2025 target levels. Permanent resident admissions are projected to stabilize at 380,000 in 2027 and 2028. The 2026–2028 Levels Plan also includes substantial reductions in the targets for new arrivals of workers and students entering Canada each year. The targets are set at 385,000 in 2026, a 43% decrease compared to the target of 673,650 in 2025, and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.

Immigration volumes have been of particular interest to Canadians in recent years as growth in population has led to concerns that Canada’s infrastructure, notably housing, is not keeping pace. Immigration is now the overwhelming determinant of population change. Canada’s population grew by over 1.2 million in 2023 and is estimated to have surpassed 41 million people in 2024. However, recent statistics show that population growth is now negative due to a reduction in immigration volumes, notably in temporary arrivals. The 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan keeps permanent resident arrivals at less than 1% of the population beyond 2027 and reduces the total number of temporary residents to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.

Owing in part to the strengths of Canada’s managed migration system, Canadians have previously expressed relatively strong support for immigration, but there has been increased debate over what is the right level of immigration for Canada in line with our capacity. An IRCC online tracking study, conducted in August 2025, finds that while views about immigration levels remain more negative than before 2023, many indicators have levelled off, though concerns about immigration’s effect on the labour market and housing remain. The proportion of Canadians saying that immigration levels are too high began to increase in 2023 (at that point it was in line with pre-pandemic results at 38%) to 47% in November 2023, 59% in June 2024, and 66% in November 2024. Though support for the number of immigrants coming to Canada remains low in historical terms, the share saying too many are coming to Canada decreased in August 2025 to 60%. The pattern is similar when asked about immigration to their province/territory or city/town with support beginning a steady decline in late 2022 before levelling off in the most recent wave. Asked why they feel the way that they do about immigration levels, the most common concern Canadians raise remains housing, though others mention competition for jobs and prioritizing the needs of people who are already here. When asked to identify ways that immigration has a positive impact on Canada, the most common benefits were multiculturalism/diversity, meeting job market demands, otherwise boosting the economy, and the skills/education immigrants bring.

Recent polling by Abacus Data finds that Canadians view “attracting top global talent while keeping immigration at sustainable levels” as an important priority (though well behind lowering the cost of living and making housing more affordable). [Redacted].

The Importance of Immigration

In the face of an aging population and a low birth rate, Canada increasingly looks to immigration as a means to grow the labour force and sustain economic growth. Immigration is essential for increasing Canada’s working age population (aged 15 to 64 years old). In the 2021 Census, nearly one in four people reported being, or having been, immigrants, the highest proportion of the population in more than 150 years. The proportion of the population represented by immigrants is expected to continue to vary widely by region.

Immigrants contribute to the strength of communities across the country, as well as to Canada as a whole. On the economic side, these individuals help meet temporary and longer‑term labour market and skills gaps that could otherwise stall economic growth in a sector or region. Within the economic immigration programs, some individuals are nominated by a province or territory for their ability to help meet regional economic needs; many others are sponsored by Canadians or permanent residents through the family reunification programs, or arrive in Canada through different humanitarian programs and pathways.

Immigrants also contribute to the economy through taxes, entrepreneurial endeavours, and established trade connections, helping to sustain the social safety net for Canadians and revitalize communities across the country. Success for newcomers and Canadians requires working collaboratively with other federal departments, provinces and territories, Indigenous communities, and the private sector to ensure communities have the capacity to welcome and integrate newcomers.

Whereas immigrants to Canada once hailed primarily from Europe, today’s top three immigration source countries—India, China, and the Philippines—are all in Asia. Each wave of immigrants contributes to the growing ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of Canada’s population, providing social benefits to Canada and Canadian communities. IRCC recognizes the importance of ongoing public education to support social cohesion and promote the benefits of immigration to local communities.

Immigrant Outcomes

At the individual level, the economic outcomes of immigrants are relatively strong. The wages of economic principal applicants, who are selected primarily for their skills and experience, surpass their Canadian-born counterparts soon after arrival. And while refugees, family class immigrants, and economic class spouses and dependents report lower participation and employment rates, their economic contribution increases over time. In addition, sponsored family relatives can provide many indirect economic supports to their households, including child care, which in turn supports labour force participation; further, they make direct economic contributions and are well represented in some occupations.

Importantly, the children of immigrants consistently achieve high levels of education and employment, benefiting Canada through future generations. A 2024 report from the Parliamentary Budget Office and a Statistics Canada report from the same year found that economic outcomes of immigrants in Canada have continued to improve. The median total income of immigrants the year after they become permanent residents went from about 55% of all tax-filers in 2014, to about 78% in 2018 and about 95% in 2022. Immigrants who were admitted in 2012 have seen their median wage increase by 74.1% between 2012 and 2022. There remain some areas for improvement, for example, the unemployment rate for recent immigrants was 11.1% in 2024, compared to 6.4% in the overall population.

Francophone Immigration

Supporting Francophone minority communities is part of IRCC’s mandate. The Official Languages Act recognizes the need to address the demographic decline faced by Francophone minority communities and includes new obligations for IRCC. In 2023, Canada surpassed its target of welcoming 4.4% French-speaking immigrants outside of Quebec. In order to boost Francophone minority communities, restore their demographic weight, and support national workforce needs through collaboration with provinces, territories, and French-speaking partners, this target was increased to 9% in 2026, 9.5% in 2027, and 10.5% in 2028. These French-speaking and bilingual newcomers bring economic, social, and cultural benefits to communities across Canada and contribute to upholding bilingualism.

Settlement and Integration

Underpinning much of Canada’s success in this area is the managed migration model and investment in settlement and integration services. Together, these approaches enable selection and control over the volume of foreign nationals who enter Canada on a permanent basis, and help ensure strong supports are in place to assist newcomers in adapting to life in Canada, and to set them on a path to integration and full citizenship. Internationally, Canada continues to be held up as the standard for its approach.

Once in Canada, all permanent residents and protected persons are eligible for IRCC‑funded settlement and integration services that help newcomers prepare for the Canadian labour market, improve their language skills and build ties to their new communities. IRCC invests significant resources in funding settlement and integration services. In 2025–2026, the department plans to invest approximately $1.125 billion in settlement services delivered by settlement service provider organizations in provinces and territories (except Quebec, which receives a grant as per the provisions of the Canada-Quebec Accord—see below under Federal-Provincial-Territorial Context).

The most recent Call for Proposals closed in early 2024, and new three-year agreements with service provider organizations came into effect April 2025. Settlement services delivered to eligible clients by service provider organizations include language training, information and orientation, and other programming to help immigrants find employment, learn about life in Canada, and connect with their communities. IRCC works closely with provinces and territories (which contribute some settlement funding), municipalities, employers, civil society, and other partners to ensure newcomers are well supported throughout their immigration journey. Recent cohorts of new settlement clients sometimes have increasingly complex, and sometimes higher, settlement needs, particularly given immigration responses to large-scale humanitarian movements (e.g., Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza).

As a complement to settlement services, through the Resettlement Assistance Program, IRCC helps ensure the successful settlement and integration of Government-Assisted Refugees and other eligible clients. This program operates in all provinces outside of Quebec, provides clients with direct financial support and also funds service provider organizations to deliver immediate and essential services, such as reception at the airport, provision of temporary accommodation and assistance finding permanent housing, orientation to life in Canada, and registration and referrals to other government and community services.

To further complement settlement services, the Interim Federal Health Program provides temporary healthcare coverage to refugees, asylum claimants, and other vulnerable populations in Canada until they are eligible for provincial/territorial health insurance or they leave Canada. In conjunction with IRCC’s health screening activities, the program supports better integration of beneficiaries into the healthcare system, the economy, and society, while protecting public health in Canada.

The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Context

Because immigration is a shared responsibility between federal and provincial/territorial governments, engagement with provincial and territorial partners is critical to the effective delivery of the Department’s mandate. IRCC engages with provinces and territories multilaterally through the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration, while bilateral engagement is guided by legally‑binding bilateral agreements. The federal government is responsible for federal economic immigration, family class immigration, refugees, protected persons, and assessing the admissibility of all cases.

As set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 3(1)(c), a key objective of immigration in Canada is “the development of a strong and prosperous Canadian economy, in which the benefits of immigration are shared across all regions of Canada.” In this respect, provinces and territories share the federal government’s interest in increasing immigration outside of Canada’s major urban centers (i.e., Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver). Since 1998, the Provincial Nominee Program has complemented federal immigration programs by allowing provinces and territories to nominate for permanent residence those foreign nationals who demonstrate their intention to reside in the jurisdiction and the potential to help meet local labour market demands and economic needs. This has been further enhanced by the implementation of the Atlantic Immigration Program in the Atlantic provinces and the Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots in 18 small- to medium-sized communities. In the case of Quebec, immigration-related matters are governed by the Canada–Quebec Accord, which specifies that Quebec is responsible for establishing economic immigration programs, as well as the selection of immigrants under its programs and resettled refugees.

In addition to the distribution of the benefits of immigration, provinces and territories are focused on a broad range of issues, including economic immigration and processing times, asylum volumes and the growing pressure placed on social services such as health and housing, and funding for settlement services.

The Global Context

The Department’s work is set against a broader global context where the number of international migrants and forcibly displaced populations is substantial and many countries have witnessed a growing backlash against migration. The drivers of displacement include shifting economic opportunities and advances in communication and transportation technologies, as well as political instability, humanitarian crises, and climate change. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates the number of people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events seriously disturbing public order at the end of 2024 at 130.8 million people. This outpaces the 2023 total of 117.3 million. Ten years prior, this number was 59.2 million. Both international and domestic stakeholders have high expectations for Canada’s role in helping to address the global displacement crisis.

In addition to the global humanitarian context the international competition for talent and high human capital is increasing, and Canada now faces competition from other nations vying for “destination of choice” status.

Asylum

Although Canada’s geographic location has kept Canada relatively buffered against migratory shocks that present outside the managed migration model, the country is not immune to the impact of changing global mixed population flows and shifting geopolitical dynamics.

It is the responsibility of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to review asylum claims and determine whether protected person status should be granted. While Canada has a strong humanitarian tradition and has international and domestic legal obligations to provide protection for those with a well‑founded fear of persecution, increased volumes in this area are associated with considerable operational and resource pressures. There are also downstream cost implications for the provinces and municipalities where asylum claimants settle. Program integrity measures such as removing the visa lift and bringing Mexico into the electronic visa authorization expansion regime have helped address asylum claim volumes from certain countries, however inland and Port of Entry claims from visa and permit holders from a range of countries continue to be historically high.

In addition to asylum claimants, Canada is one of the top refugee resettlement countries in the world. Refugee resettlement involves working with international organizations as well as civil society partners and private sponsors to identify refugees abroad and resettle them in Canada, including by providing them appropriate integration support and services. IRCC is working to further diversify overseas referral partners while continuing to support in-Canada resettlement and settlement service providers, which will enable the Department to provide humanitarian responses that are better tailored to different needs.

International Engagement

Because effectively managed global migration ultimately contributes to a safer and more prosperous Canada, and because Canada upholds the fulfilment of its international obligations to refugee protection, international engagement is an important component of the Department’s mandate.

IRCC conducts multilateral, bilateral, and regional international engagement through various fora to identify collective solutions to global challenges and crises; to address country-specific issues related to migration and refugee protection, such as labour mobility and travel facilitation; to maintain the integrity of migration and refugee protection systems; to exchange best practices and promote a balanced narrative on migration and refugees; to enhance global protection efforts; and to protect the safety and security of Canadians.

IRCC also provides support for international capacity building to help other countries develop tools and policies to manage migration, support immigrant integration, and strengthen refugee protection systems. IRCC has two key programs for building capacity: the International Migration Capacity Building Program and the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative.

The Minister of IRCC plays a critical role on multiple fronts in the international context. This includes leading Canada’s engagement with the International Organization for Migration and, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, co-leading Canada’s engagement at the United Nations on issues relating to international migration governance and refugee protection. The Minister of IRCC and the Minister of Public Safety also represent Canada in the Five Country Ministerial group, which includes counterparts from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. This group traditionally meets annually to discuss public safety and migration issues. Finally, given Canada’s leadership role in migration, the Minister of IRCC is often invited to key United Nations events, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development meetings, and numerous bilateral engagements.