On September 1, 2026, RBC Thought Leadership, the think tank arm of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), published a report titled A Smarter Immigration Strategy, arguing that Express Entry has drifted away from the purpose it was built for: since category-based selection was introduced in 2023, lower-scoring candidates have been able to jump the queue through an occupational or language category, while higher-scoring applicants waiting in the pool are left behind. Citing government data, the report finds that the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score needed for an invitation through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is "over 100 points more, on average" than what some category draws require, a gap that has been especially visible in the 2026 rounds: through September 4, CEC cutoffs have stayed between 507 and 523, while the French-language proficiency category fell as low as 382 and the February 19 physician draw cleared at just 169 — the lowest cutoff any category draw has ever recorded. In response, RBC puts forward seven recommendations, including inviting the highest-ranked candidates first, tightening or eliminating category-based draws at the federal level, reversing the 2022 legislation that authorized the categories, setting a minimum share of economic immigration for Express Entry, reintroducing a minimum cutoff based on core factors, devolving targeted category selection to the provinces and territories, and committing to regular recalibration of the CRS formula. It bears emphasizing that these are the policy recommendations of a private institution, not a government decision. As of September 9, neither Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) nor Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab had responded publicly to the report, and draws for the French-language, healthcare and physician categories are still running as scheduled; IRCC did, however, consult this spring on merging the three federal high-skilled programs and recalibrating the CRS, and again from August to early September on the shape of the 2027 categories, saying it is considering "narrowing" the number or eligibility scope of labour-shortage categories. The 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan is due to be tabled in Parliament by November 1, at which point the overall direction of federal economic immigration should become clearer.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published its latest processing time estimates for temporary residence applications on September 2, 2026, and most categories are now faster than they were on August 26. The clearest improvements came in the super visa category, where applicants in Pakistan saw their estimated wait fall by 23 days to 139 days and applicants in the Philippines saw theirs fall by 11 days to 93 days; the study permit estimate for applicants in India fell by two weeks to five weeks and the work permit estimate for applicants in Pakistan fell by a week to seven weeks, while work permit applications submitted from inside Canada are now estimated at 113 days, the lowest figure recorded so far in 2026. Moving the other way, work permit applicants in the Philippines are waiting two weeks longer at seven weeks and applicants in India one week longer at 10 weeks, and the in-Canada study permit estimate rose by a week to eight weeks, its highest level in at least three months. Visitor visa estimates were nearly flat, with every country listed moving by only one or two days. IRCC data also shows the department finalized 1,566,455 temporary residence applications in the first half of 2026, with more than 401,000 still awaiting a final decision at the end of June. The next update to temporary residence processing times is expected around September 9.

On July 21, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched a new web page titled "Understanding permanent residence numbers in Canada," acknowledging that the annual permanent residence (PR) admission targets it publishes do not capture the full scale of intake. According to the page, the "overall" PR target set by the Immigration Levels Plan is 380,000 per year for both 2026 and 2027, but that figure excludes two "one-time initiatives": up to roughly 115,000 spaces reserved over the same two years for in-Canada protected persons, and up to 33,000 for in-Canada workers. Counting both, Canada plans to admit about 908,000 permanent residents across 2026 and 2027, an annual average of roughly 454,000, nearly 20 percent above the nominal 380,000 target. The page uses a bar chart to show monthly admissions from January to May 2026, splitting levels-plan admissions and one-time admissions into two side-by-side bars; as of May 2026, about 128,000 PRs had been admitted in 2026, with the one-time initiatives accounting for roughly 14.4 percent, or about 18,400 people. The move echoes IRCC's application-backlog page, which was updated the same day, and the "Understanding student and temporary worker numbers in Canada" page launched in August 2025, while the practice of splitting PR intake into "two sets of numbers" traces back to Budget 2025, released in November 2025 - the same budget that first divided federal spending into "day-to-day operating" and "capital investment" categories and drew criticism from economists over what one called an "utterly arbitrary" definition of capital spending.

As Canada moves into the second half of 2026, the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) of both Manitoba and Saskatchewan have each used roughly half of their annual allocations, yet the two provinces are structured differently and measure their progress in different ways. As of the end of May, Manitoba had issued 2,167 nominations out of an annual allocation of 6,239, of which 697 were enhanced nominations issued through Express Entry; from January through June the province held 12 selection rounds and issued 1,833 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAA), with the Skilled Worker Stream accounting for 66%, plus two targeted draws aimed at healthcare (192) and education occupations (431). Saskatchewan, meanwhile, had issued 2,628 nominations out of its 4,761 allocation as of June 30, using up 55%; for 2026 it divides its nominations into three sector categories -- priority, capped and other -- with priority sectors (healthcare, agriculture, skilled trades, mining, manufacturing, energy, technology) reserving at least 50% of spots and already 62% used, capped sectors (accommodation and food services, trucking, retail) limited to 25% and about 60% filled, and the next capped-sector application window set for September 7. Both provinces' allocations are sharply smaller than in 2024, an ongoing aftershock of the federal government's overall cut to provincial nomination spots in 2025.

Canada's provinces and territories have renewed their pressure on Ottawa to expand Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allocations and reform Express Entry, arguing that regional governments need a greater say in selecting economic immigrants to address local labour shortages. The demands were made at the June 23, 2026 meeting of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI), where federal, provincial and territorial ministers weighed priorities for the 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan. No immediate policy changes were announced, but the discussions sent a clear signal of where provinces want influence — spanning larger PNP allocations, greater transparency over how quotas are set, further Express Entry refinement, smoother transitions to permanent residence for temporary residents already in Canada, a bigger provincial role in student immigration and post-graduation work permits, more settlement funding, and continued Francophone immigration outside Quebec. The push comes as Canada scales immigration back from record highs while still trying to meet labour market needs.

July 2026 brought a dense wave of policy change to Canadian immigration, spanning both the federal and provincial levels. On July 15, new rules from the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) governing immigration consultants took effect, alongside federal criminal-justice reforms that carry sentencing consequences for non-citizens; July 20 marked the deadline for public consultation on federal asylum-system reform. At the provincial level, Ontario replaced its previous eight nominee streams with the brand-new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream on June 26, British Columbia is accepting applications for a one-time nomination initiative aimed at rural and remote health-support roles, and Quebec has extended open work permit eligibility to the spouses of skilled workers. At the same time, open work permits for applicants under the 2021 Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) pathway, along with new requirements for international students changing schools or programs, remain in force and warrant applicants' attention this month. This series of adjustments unfolds amid an overall tightening of Canada's immigration volumes: the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan has cut the annual permanent resident (PR) admissions target to 380,000, and provincial nomination allocations have partially rebounded in 2026 after being halved in 2025; meanwhile, public consultation on the 2027-2029 Levels Plan that will shape the next three years closed on June 30, making July the point at which policy development moves into an internal drafting phase.

New figures from the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) show that as of June 30, 2026, the province had issued 2,628 nominations this year, about 55% of its 2026 allocation of 4,761 spaces, with priority sectors already 62% used, ahead of capped sectors at 60% and other sectors at 37%, leaving 2,133 spaces still available for the second half of the year; the 4,761-space allocation matches Saskatchewan's finalized 2025 total but remains more than 40% below the 8,000 spaces the province held in 2024, a reminder of the federal government's sharp cuts to provincial nominee allocations in early 2025 followed by a partial restoration late in the year. At the same time, Saskatchewan is opening a new round of capped-sector intakes across four staggered windows on July 6 and 7 for trucking, retail trade, accommodations and food services, splitting accommodations and food services into two separate categories for the first time, with two further intake dates set for September 14 and November 2; capped-sector employers may apply only during these designated windows, and only for workers with six months or less remaining on their work permits, while priority-sector and other-sector employers face no such restriction and may apply at any time.

The Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) has announced that it will reopen intake for family sponsorship applications on July 2, 2026, after the previous round reached its limit, setting a new two-year cap of up to 15,700 sponsorship undertakings, of which 13,300 are reserved for the spousal category and 2,400 for parents and grandparents. Compared with the first round of 13,000 places opened in 2024, the new total is roughly 20% higher, and for the first time adult dependent children aged 18 and older are excluded from the cap. MIFI says it will prioritize earlier-filed applications once intake reopens, and any applications received beyond the limit will not be processed, will be returned as submitted, and will have their fees refunded. Because family reunification for those settling in Quebec follows a process distinct from the rest of Canada, applicants intending to settle in the province must first apply to MIFI for a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) before they can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data shows that, as of April 30, 2026, the department's total application inventory stood at 2,153,900, of which 1,231,200 were being processed within service standards and 922,700 sat in the backlog — the lowest backlog level since July 2025 and a fourth consecutive monthly decline that puts the figure roughly 92,000 below the December 2025 peak of 1,014,700; permanent-residence applications showed an Express Entry backlog of just 9%, an all-time low driven by a 2026 shift toward category-based draws and a tighter work-experience threshold, while enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and family-sponsorship backlogs eased to 37% and 23% respectively; on the temporary-residence side the picture was more mixed, with study-permit and visitor-visa backlogs falling to 35% and 45% but the work-permit backlog climbing to 37% — the only category sitting above its monthly projection — amid a surge in in-Canada renewals; citizenship grants held steady with a 23% backlog for a third straight month, and the broader downward trend reflects the federal government's 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which holds permanent-residence targets at 380,000 a year while sharply cutting temporary-resident intake, easing the inflow of new applications and helping IRCC chip away at a backlog that once peaked near 2.7 million during the pandemic.

Quebec's Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) confirmed in a press release on June 10, 2026 that the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) will reopen on July 2, 2026 for a two-year window running to July 2, 2028; the first intake period starts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on July 2 and runs until October 31, 2026, with no cap on applications, and is open to the two groups who already qualified when the program was abolished on November 19, 2025 -- Quebec graduates and temporary foreign workers -- under the same eligibility criteria that applied at the time of the suspension and abolition. The government says that over the remainder of the planning period, it intends to issue a roughly equivalent number of Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQs) between the PEQ and the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ); until October 31, PSTQ invitations will be reduced accordingly and will mainly target candidates in TEER 4 and 5 occupations and those with less than two years of work experience. MIFI stresses that the reinstatement is temporary, expects 8,000 to 12,000 applications in the first period, and confirms that once the PEQ is finally retired, the permanent selection of skilled workers will be consolidated under the PSTQ.