The offer adds optional PNP space for a broader 2027 transition covering up to 100,000 workers and their families. Provinces and territories are meant to use the allocations by March 31, 2027, but the nomination total and jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction shares are not specified.
Checked against the Government of Canada
Canada offered provinces and territories optional extra nomination space on November 12, 2026, under a plan to move up to 100,000 workers and their families to permanent resident status in 2027. The offer is part of a wider measure for people already in Canada who are seeking permanent residence.
The 100,000 figure applies to workers and family members in the broader transition plan. It is not a published count of provincial nominations. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the measure in Dieppe, New Brunswick, alongside Budget 2026.
Governments can decide how much of the additional space to use for workers established in their communities who meet local labour needs. The workers must be in Canada outside Quebec and eligible for nomination, with accompanying family members also covered.
Provinces and territories may also identify workers in their jurisdictions who have already applied for permanent residence and are waiting for a decision. The measure includes eligible applicants in selected federal and regional pathways, as well as people seeking nomination through provincial streams.
The government’s release sets out the offer and its intended timing. Here are the stated figures for the worker component:
| Measure | Figure or status | Period or timing |
|---|---|---|
| Worker and family transition plan | Up to 100,000 people | 2027 |
| Additional provincial nomination space | Optional; jurisdictions choose how much to use | Intended for use by March 31, 2027 |
| Provincial and territorial distribution | Shares not specified | Not stated |
The participating provinces and territories, their individual shares and an effective date for the extra allocations have not been specified.
Covered applicants do not need to contact IRCC
Free toolCanada Express Entry Points CalculatorApplicants covered by the measure do not need to take action or contact IRCC to have their applications processed under the additional spaces. The change does not create new programs or reopen pathways that have closed.
March 31, 2027 is the intended date for governments to use the additional allocations. It is not presented as a filing deadline for applicants.
The wider measure also covers pending pathway and family applications
The extra nomination space can be used through both base streams and Express Entry-aligned, or enhanced, streams. Other workers waiting on decisions may be identified through the Atlantic Immigration Program and selected closed federal programs, including the Start-up Visa Program, Self-Employed Persons Program, Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programs.
The PNP worker component is one part of a wider set of up to 200,000 additional in-Canada permanent residence spaces in 2027. The other group includes up to 32,000 people with Hong Kong pathway applications, up to 18,800 applicants under the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway, up to 12,600 people already found eligible on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and up to 45,000 spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Canada.
The IRCC release on the worker-retention measure sets out the covered groups and confirms that applicants do not need to contact the department for processing under the additional spaces.
