Ottawa speeds up permanent residence for up to 33,000 workers in Quebec
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابThe federal government has announced a new measure aimed at supporting workers and employers in Quebec by speeding up the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residence in 2026 and 2027. Ottawa says the move is meant to give businesses more stability while retaining workers who are already living in Canada and filling real labour-market needs, even as the government moves to reduce new temporary resident arrivals overall.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the measure targets temporary workers who have submitted a permanent selection application under Quebec’s new Skilled Worker Selection Program and have received a request from Quebec to file a Demande de Sélection Permanente (DSP). The initiative is limited to people who currently hold, or recently held, an employer-specific work permit under either the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program, with permits expiring between the date of the announcement and December 31, 2026.
Eligible workers can apply through IRCC’s website until December 31, 2026, and their files will receive expedited processing. The department is also encouraging applicants to apply before their permits expire so they can continue working without interruption, a detail that matters both for the workers themselves and for Quebec employers trying to retain staff in key roles.
The announcement fits into a broader immigration reset. Canada’s 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan keeps the permanent resident admissions target at 380,000 a year, while reducing targets for new temporary resident arrivals to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in both 2027 and 2028. At the same time, the plan increases the weight of economic immigration, which is projected to account for about 64% of admissions in 2027 and 2028.
Budget 2025 had already set aside $19.4 million over four years starting in 2026-27 for this one-time measure, mainly to cover the cost of processing additional applications. The government’s rationale is that these workers already have roots in their communities, pay taxes, and are contributing to the economy, making them a more stable source of labour than relying only on new arrivals from abroad.
For Quebec, the significance goes beyond immigration policy alone. The measure is designed to reduce uncertainty for employers who rely on temporary foreign workers, while offering a faster path to permanent status for a defined group of workers already established in the province. Still, as announced, this is not a blanket pathway for all work permit holders in Quebec. It is a targeted and time-limited measure with specific eligibility rules.
