What IRCC said on November 12
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published a news release on November 12, 2026 after a press conference in Dieppe, New Brunswick. It is the first time the department has explained how the workers side of its 2027 time-limited measure is meant to work. Our earlier article describes the measure announced on November 5, and a November 10 release gave the humanitarian cohort figures.
The new release says the Government of Canada is offering the provinces and territories "optional, additional space" to transition up to a combined total of 100,000 workers and their families, already living and working in Canada, to permanent residence in 2027.
Extra nominee allocations, used at each province's discretion
The mechanism is the Provincial Nominee Program. Each province and territory will be offered additional PNP allocations on top of its regular ones, and each will "be able to choose how much of this additional space they use" to nominate workers who are established in their communities and meet their labour market needs. In other words, a province can take all, some or none of the extra space.
The release adds a date: the allocations "are intended to be used by March 31, 2027, to support the transition of workers and their families to permanent residence in 2027." That is the window for provinces to issue the extra nominations; the permanent residence admissions themselves are counted in 2027.
IRCC has not published how the extra space is divided among the provinces and territories, or which provincial streams will carry it. Expect each province to announce that on its own immigration website.
Workers who already applied under federal programs
The second part of the measure is for people whose permanent residence application is already in IRCC's inventory. The release says provincial and territorial governments "will also be able to identify workers in their jurisdictions who have already applied for permanent residence, including through several federal programs, and are awaiting a decision." It names:
- the Atlantic Immigration Program;
- federal programs and pilots that are closed to new applications, including the Start-up Visa Program, the Self-Employed Persons Program, the Agri-Food Pilot and the home care worker programs.
How a province will identify these workers, and what happens next, is not described. IRCC's time-limited measure page (updated November 5) still defines the workers cohort as people outside Quebec who are waiting for a decision under one of these closed programs or are eligible to apply through the Provincial Nominee Program.
What the measure is not
The release repeats two points from November 5: the measures "do not create new programs or re-open closed pathways", and "applicants do not need to do anything or contact IRCC for their applications to be processed under these additional spaces." It also states that this measure "is separate from the In-Canada Worker Initiative announced in Budget 2025", the earlier one-time initiative for work permit holders already in Canada, which IRCC lists as ending in 2027.
What this means in practice
If you are a temporary worker in Canada without a permanent residence application, the route this measure opens is a provincial nomination. Watch your province's immigration site over the coming weeks for new or expanded streams tied to the extra 2027 allocations, and check whether your occupation, employer and time working in the province fit the stream's rules. Keep your work permit valid; a nomination does not help a worker who has lost status.
If you already have a Start-up Visa, Self-Employed, Agri-Food Pilot, caregiver or Atlantic Immigration Program application pending, there is no new form and no fee. Keep your contact details current with IRCC and answer any request for documents by the deadline. Since the provinces are the ones who "identify" workers, where you live and work is likely to matter; the release says nothing more.
Two cautions. The 100,000 figure is a ceiling and depends on how much optional space the provinces take up. And March 31, 2027 is a target for provinces to use their allocations, not a deadline for applicants.
Official sources
- IRCC news release, November 12, 2026: Minister Metlege Diab highlights how Canada is working with provinces and territories to support worker retention
- IRCC: Managing a responsive and predictable immigration system (time-limited measure for 2027)
- IRCC backgrounder, November 5, 2026: Building a stronger Canada through a well-managed, predictable immigration system
- IRCC media advisory, November 10, 2026: Minister Metlege Diab to make an announcement in Dieppe