Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s 2026–27 Departmental Plan

Contents:

• At a glance
• From the Minister
• Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
  • Core responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers
  • Core responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration
  • Core responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports
  • Internal services
• Department-wide considerations
  • Related Government Priorities
  • Key Risks
• Planned spending and human resources
  • Spending
  • Funding
  • Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
  • Human resources
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Corporate information
• Definitions

Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services

• Core responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers
• Core responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration
• Core responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports
• Internal services

Core responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Gender-based Analysis Plus
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

Description

IRCC facilitates the entry of migrants who wish to come to Canada temporarily, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians. The Department works with partners to verify that individuals meet admissibility requirements. IRCC processes visas, electronic travel authorizations, and work and study permits for tourists, business travellers, international students and temporary workers, whose spending and presence in Canada benefit the economy.

Quality of life impacts

This core responsibility contributes to the “Prosperity” and “Good governance” as well as “Fairness and inclusion” domains of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada and, more specifically “Household incomes” and “Employment”, “Confidence in institutions” and “Discrimination and unfair treatment”.

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the Department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates for Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers. Details are presented by departmental result.

Table 1: Departmental Result 1: Entry to Canada of eligible visitors, international students and temporary workers is facilitated

Table 1 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers in 2026–27.

DR 1: Entry to Canada of eligible visitors, international students and temporary workers is facilitated

Results we plan to achieve

An Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to translate parts of this report from English to French. The resulting translation was reviewed by IRCC officials as well as a professional translator. The contents of the report were not generated using AI.

• Continuing to manage temporary resident volumes in a sustainable way and uphold the integrity of Canada’s immigration system. Temporary residents make important economic, social, and cultural contributions, including strengthening Francophone minority communities (FMCs). However, growing pressures on housing and social services, along with a renewed focus on economic priorities, have underscored the need for a more targeted, measured, and sustainable approach to temporary immigration that better aligns with Canada’s welcoming capacity. Specifically, the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan sets an overall temporary resident target of 385,000 in 2026, and notional targets of 370,000 in 2027 and 370,000 in 2028. Targets are for new arrivals only and include international students (155,000 in 2026 and 150,000 in each of 2027 and 2028) and temporary workers (230,000 in 2026 and 220,000 in each of 2027 and 2028).
• Refining temporary resident programs – including the International Student Program, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and the International Mobility Program (IMP) – to balance sustainable volumes with responsiveness to talent attraction, economic growth, and labour market needs. IRCC will continue engaging with provinces, territories and other stakeholders to attain this balance.
• Continuing to effectively manage visitors to Canada by calibrating visa requirements to maximize economic benefits without undermining safety and security. The Department will continue to offer visa-exempt travel to millions of visitors via the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program, with most applications approved in minutes, and explore additional opportunities to facilitate travel where appropriate. Improving processing and delivering a more streamlined online client experience, including through the DPM initiative. The Department will continue to advance digitization of applications and automation technologies, while protecting and prioritizing the safety and security of Canadians. Other client experience initiatives include testing the issuance and verification of digital visas with a subset of clients and stakeholders to inform future approaches for issuing digital immigration documents.
• Facilitating the entry of genuine students, workers, and visitors, while strengthening the in-Canada asylum system and reducing asylum claims.
• Continuing to strengthen program integrity through evidence-based policy and risk analysis including:
  • Monitoring risk to detect fraud and non-compliance, including continued implementation of the Global Risk Framework, a proactive, data-driven model that acts as an early warning system and monitors IRCC’s overall ability to manage program integrity risks.
  • Verifying letters of acceptance from Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs).
  • Working to introduce a new authority to impose language testing requirements under the IMP.
  • Advancing efforts to strengthen control over immigration documents and applications, allowing IRCC to better respond to crises and unexpected events.
  • Monitoring global tuberculosis incidence rates to determine which temporary residents require an immigration medical examination.
  • Enhancing automated information sharing for eTA applicants.
  • Leveraging AI to improve detection of altered documents.
  • Strengthening the governance framework for immigration and citizenship representatives. This includes advancing the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants regulations and advancing an administrative penalties and consequences regime for immigration representatives.
  • Working to implement proposed measures to increase consequences of non-compliance findings for employers of temporary workers, enhancing awareness of worker rights and employer obligations, and strengthening up-front assessments of employers to deter program misuse.
  • Advancing the implementation of the proposed transfer of responsibility for employer-focused compliance inspections to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), to align with IRCC’s CER commitments. This will help to streamline program delivery and reduce duplication, while simplifying compliance for employers.
• Supporting the Talent Attraction Strategy to help make Canada a top destination for global talent, including bilingual and French-speaking temporary residents, through:
  • Negotiating new labour mobility pathways to attract business persons and highly skilled workers to drive economic growth.
  • Processing study permits for doctoral student applications and Global Skills Strategy applications on a priority basis with a target of 14 days.
  • Exempting master’s and doctoral degree students who are enrolling at public DLIs from the provincial or territorial attestation letter requirement under the federal cap on study permit applications.
  • Revising the list of partners under the Global Skills Strategy that can refer eligible employers for account managers and leverage the Global Talent Stream to support federal priorities.
  • Collaborating with the Major Projects Office, ESDC, and provincial and territorial governments to develop a coordinated and streamlined approach to facilitate the recruitment of international workers to support projects of national interest.
  • Monitoring and evaluating outcomes of the revised eligibility for post-graduation work permit program and spousal open work permits under the IMP, ensuring ongoing alignment with labour market priorities and sustainable temporary resident levels.
  • Continuing to enhance the vitality of Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec through the Francophone Minority Community Student Pilot and a renewed Francophone Mobility stream aimed at strengthening workers’ economic outcomes.
• Policy development and public consultations with ESDC to create a new foreign labour stream for agriculture and fish processing, tailored to the unique needs of these employers and workers, as well as prioritizing processing of work permit applications in essential sectors such as agriculture, food processing, and healthcare.
• Enhance transparency and reduce client Access to Information and Privacy requests for refusal notes in their application by proactively releasing Officer Decision Notes along with refusal letters for temporary resident visas (excluding eTAs and Temporary Resident Permits), visitor records, study permits and their extensions, and work permits and their extensions.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

IRCC collects disaggregated data on visitors, work permit holders, and study permit holders, including gender, preferred official language, age, country of citizenship, and other identity factors. This information supports intersectional analysis and informs forward looking policy development across temporary resident programs for 2026–27. Within the International Student Program, this data may be used to inform future equitable access initiatives aimed at reducing barriers for prospective students and supporting diversification of the international student population.

IRCC also applies GBA Plus when assessing the impacts of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program, examining how workers may experience different barriers based on gender, age, language proficiency, country of origin, occupation, or other identity characteristics. International Experience Canada similarly considers personal identity factors that may affect diverse groups, including women, Indigenous youth, racialized youth, and 2SLGBTQI+^{Footnote 2} participants. In the visitor program, travel document issuance is driven by demand, which is largely outside IRCC’s influence. However, disaggregated data continues to help identify patterns or impacts that may differ across populations. GBA Plus remains heavily integrated in policy development, program redesign, and stakeholder engagement across all temporary resident programs. Current data collection is sufficient to monitor gender and diversity impacts, and no major new initiatives are planned. Through IRCC’s DPM initiative, IRCC will continue using GBA Plus and data insights to ensure redesigned services are accessible, equitable, and user centred.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 2: Planned resources to achieve results for Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers

Table 2 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Program inventory

Core Responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers is supported by the following programs:

• Visitors
• Temporary Workers
• International Students

Additional information related to the program inventory for Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

• In an effort to better represent the shifts in Canada’s migration landscape during the past 10 years, IRCC’s reporting framework has been reviewed and significantly modified to:
  • Remove metrics that were misaligned with and/or did not accurately measure the Department’s mandate and Program impact.
  • Include updated metrics that better report to Canadians on IRCC’s achievements towards upholding the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and economic, social, and cultural contributions to Canada.
• As immigration volumes are made public yearly via the Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration and the Immigration Levels Plan, the updated framework metrics under this Core Responsibility do not duplicate reporting on volumes, but, instead, focus on the integrity of Canada’s immigration and ensuring that eligible temporary resident clients receive services within a timely manner.

Core responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Gender-based Analysis Plus
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

Description

IRCC facilitates the admission and economic and social integration of immigrants and refugees who intend to stay in Canada permanently, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians. The Department selects economic immigrant applicants to contribute to the Canadian economy, processes family member applicants to reunite families, and processes refugee and protected person applicants to provide a safe haven for those facing persecution. IRCC works with partners to verify that individuals meet admissibility requirements before they enter Canada. In order to support immigrants and refugees in integrating into Canadian society, IRCC offers a variety of settlement support services through a network of service providers.

Quality of life impacts

This core responsibility contributes to the “Prosperity” and “Good governance” as well as “Fairness and inclusion” domains of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada and, more specifically “Household incomes” and “Employment”, “Confidence in institutions” and “Discrimination and unfair treatment” through all of the activities mentioned in the core responsibility description.

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the Department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates for Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration. Details are presented by departmental result.

Table 3: Departmental Result 2: Potential permanent residents are selected for immigration to Canada

Table 3 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration.

Table 4: Departmental Result 3: IRCC effectively supports newcomer participation in Canadian society

Table 4 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration.

Table 5: Departmental Result 4: Economic immigrants succeed in the labour market

Table 5 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration in 2026–27.

DR 2: Potential permanent residents are selected for immigration to Canada

Results we plan to achieve

• Admitting a targeted number of permanent residents, in accordance with Canada’s annual 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, under each immigration category. The Immigration Levels Plan sets an overall permanent resident target of 380,000 for 2026, and a notional target of 380,000 for 2027 and 2028. As supporting the Canadian economy continues to be a key priority, the economic category represents the largest proportion of admissions each year, reaching 64% in 2027 and 2028. Family class admissions will remain relatively stable, between 21.3-22.1%, and 13% of overall admissions will be dedicated to refugees and protected persons. Additional admission spaces are included to fulfil Canada’s humanitarian commitments.
• Accelerating the transition of up to 33,000 temporary workers to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027. This initiative will target workers who have established strong roots in their communities, are paying taxes and are helping to build the strong economy Canada needs.
• Monitoring application inventory, leveraging processing capacity, and managing intake across permanent resident programs to achieve admissions targets, as set out in Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan. IRCC strives to process applications within service standards, when applicable. These efforts will support sustainable immigration goals and help reduce wait times, recognizing that currently the volume of applications in some programs exceeds available admission spaces under the Levels Plan.
• Transforming IRCC’s business and leveraging new technical capabilities through the DPM initiative. New technical functions will help process applications more efficiently, starting with how we manage Expression of Interest (EOI) submissions or EOI from those wishing to immigrate to Canada. Enhancing client service and transparency by continuing to improve IRCC’s processing times tool, allowing applicants to better understand how long it should take to process their application.
• Achieving permanent resident targets in the economic category by:
  • Managing the Provincial Nominee Program in collaboration with provinces and territories to better align nomination volumes with annual admission targets in the Levels Plan, manage intake, and with critical labour needs.
  • Leveraging category-based selection in Express Entry to prioritize skilled workers who can help address skills shortages and other economic priorities.
• Supporting the Talent Attraction Strategy to remain competitive in attracting global talent, including bilingual and French-speaking permanent residents, through:
  • Updating category-based selection categories for 2026 to address labour shortages and retain top talent with Canadian work experience.
  • Developing a broader suite of reforms to Express Entry, including the addition of points for job offers and Canadian work experience in high wage occupations and consideration of how to reward those in who are certified to work in regulated occupations.
  • Creating a new high impact Start-up Visa pilot that will replace and address observed issues with the existing Start-Up Visa program, to better support business development and economic growth. Eligibility criteria and streamlined program elements will focus on elite entrepreneurs.
• Reaching targets in the family reunification category, and making it easier for families hosting Super Visa applicants to meet the minimum necessary income threshold.
• Achieving permanent resident targets in the resettled refugees and protected persons category by:
  • Maintaining a partnership with the International Organization for Migration and collaborate with domestic and international partners to identify refugees for resettlement, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and sponsorship groups in Canada.
  • Extending the pause on intake of sponsorship applications through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program, from the Group of Five and Community Sponsor streams, until December 31, 2026. This will help prevent further growth in the application inventory, and help move toward shorter, more predictable processing times.
  • Fulfilling existing commitments under the Government-Assisted Refugee program to resettle 12,000 refugees each from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific regions; and advancing the commitment to resettle 4,000 refugees from the Americas by 2028.
• Reducing the inventory of applications for permanent residence in the protected persons in Canada category and strengthen inventory management by:
  • Implementing a one-time initiative to process approximately 115,000 permanent residence applications over two years, in addition to the admissions targets outlined in the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan for this category.
• Strengthening the asylum system to ensure timely and consistent decision-making while maintaining fairness and protection standards.
• Streamlining Canada’s asylum system by increasing the proportion of cases involving persons protected in Canada who have applied for permanent residence that are finalized each year, in line with the parameters established by the Levels Plan. This will provide greater stability for refugee families, support long-term integration, and uphold Canada’s humanitarian commitments.
• Leveraging the Crisis Response Framework to advance a coordinated and consistent response to international crises.
• Engaging with international multilateral and regional organizations, including with the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration. This will involve advancing Canada’s international migration policy priorities, including at the upcoming 2026 International Migration Review Forum.
• Achieving the French-speaking PR admissions target of 9% in 2026, as outlined in the Immigration Levels Plan, to be on the path of establishing a 12% target by 2029. IRCC will continue to implement the Policy on Francophone Immigration, including expanding promotion internationally and in Canada, and leveraging category-based selection in Express Entry, to meet the target. IRCC aims to gradually increase French-speaking PR admissions over the long-term, supporting the integration of French-speaking and bilingual newcomers^{Footnote 3} in FMCs. Engagement with Francophone stakeholders and communities will continue, including for the renewal of funds associated with the Action Plan for Official Languages.
• Exploring ways to further support FMCs across Canada, including through the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot. The Department is also exploring ways to optimize French-speaking PR admissions outside of Quebec, including providing pathways to permanent residency for French-speaking temporary residents already in Canada.
• Engaging with partners and stakeholders to inform policy and program development. This includes leveraging the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration governance structure; bilateral outreach under the Canada-Quebec Accord; broader consultations to support the development of the annual levels plan, as well as ongoing engagement with the Council of Newcomers.

DR 3: IRCC effectively supports newcomer participation in Canadian society

Results we plan to achieve

• Designing and funding services to help newcomers settle into Canadian society and the labour market.  
• Implementing limits to settlement service eligibility for economic immigrants. This will ensure that those who most need settlement services can benefit from them within the scope of reduced funding.
• Continuing to work with settlement and resettlement service providers to support newcomers in overcoming barriers to integration into Canadian society.
• Delivering strengthened services in French through the Francophone Integration Pathway, advancing the ‘by and for Francophones’ approach.
• Using data to identify pressures and mitigations to manage language training wait times. IRCC has implemented a national waitlist management strategy, which includes monitoring of occupancy requirements, service provider staff availability and space restrictions.
• Introducing co-payments for supplemental health products and services (such as prescription medication or dental care), through the Interim Federal Health Program, as part of the Department’s targeted CER adjustments.
• Adjusting the Interim Housing Assistance Program commensurate with the decline in asylum claimants, as part of IRCC’s CER process.
• Working with provinces and municipalities to provide asylum claimants with access to legal aid, employment, and other settlement services.

DR 4: Economic immigrants succeed in the labour market

Results we plan to achieve

• Continuing to evaluate federal high-skilled, regional and sectoral economic immigration programs and outcomes, and adjusting policies to better ensure that IRCC selects individuals who will establish economically and find jobs that match their skills and qualifications.
• Promoting employer engagement and retention strategies for regional economic programs to facilitate integration and retention in communities facing demographic and workforce challenges.
• Improving program design and delivery to support transitions from temporary to permanent residence, while collaborating with ESDC, and provincial and territorial partners, to remove barriers for internationally educated professionals in regulated occupations.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

For all permanent resident programs, IRCC collects and analyses data results can be disaggregated by GBA Plus relevant characteristics, including nationality, gender, age, education, official language ability, country of citizenship, country of birth, intended occupation, destination in Canada, and family status where applicable. These analyses support program (re)design, help identify barriers, and inform initiatives to improve outcomes for underrepresented groups. All applicants continue to be assessed equitably against established selection criteria, while the Department monitors systemic barriers to support fair access and outcomes. IRCC will also continue engaging with community organizations, refugee advocates including refugee-led organizations, and individuals with lived experience to inform policy and operational decisions in the permanent resident programs.

Settlement programming is designed to meet the diverse needs of newcomers, including those facing greater barriers to integration such as refugees, women, youth, seniors, racialized newcomers, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ persons. Through the current funding cycle, IRCC supports inclusive services such as targeted programming, case management, child care supports, services for newcomers with disabilities, and digital supports. Settlement programming will continue to contribute to advancing Truth and Reconciliation by enhancing newcomer awareness of Indigenous histories and cultures, and by fostering meaningful connections between Indigenous Peoples, newcomers, and Canadians. In 2026–27, the Settlement Program will continue applying GBA Plus and analyzing disaggregated data to inform program design and access, and funding decisions.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 6: Planned resources to achieve results for Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration

Table 6 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Program inventory

Core Responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration is supported by the following programs:

• Federal Economic Immigration
• Regional Economic Immigration
• Humanitarian/Compassionate and Discretionary Immigration
• Family Reunification
• Settlement
• Refugee Resettlement
• Asylum

Additional information related to the program inventory for Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

• In an effort to better represent the shifts in Canada’s immigration landscape during the past 10 years, IRCC’s reporting framework has been reviewed and significantly modified to:
  • Remove past metrics that were and/or did not accurately measure the Department’s mandate and program impact.
  • Include new updated metrics that better report to Canadians on IRCC’s achievements towards upholding the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and economic, social, and cultural contributions to Canada.
• Under this Core Responsibility, the updated reporting framework provides an improved evidence-based approach to demonstrate successful delivery of IRCC’s mandate programs regarding Francophone immigration, newcomer integration and other economic, social and cultural benefits delivered through facilitation of eligible permanent residents, asylum seekers and refugees.

Core responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Gender-based Analysis Plus
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

Description

IRCC promotes the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, and issues secure and internationally recognized Canadian citizenship and travel documents so that Canadians can participate fully in civic society and so that travel is facilitated across borders while contributing to international and domestic security.

Quality of life impacts

This core responsibility contributes to the “Society” and “Good governance” as well as “Fairness and inclusion” domains of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada and, more specifically “Sense of belonging”, and “Confidence in institutions” through all of the activities mentioned in the core responsibility description.

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the Department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates for Citizenship and Passports. Details are presented by departmental result.

Table 7: Departmental Result 5: Canadians’ international travel is facilitated

Table 7 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Citizenship and Passports.

Table 8: Departmental Result 6: Eligible permanent residents become Canadian citizens

Table 8 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Citizenship and Passports.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Citizenship and Passports in 2026–27.

DR 5: Canadians’ international travel is facilitated

Results we plan to achieve

• Ensuring travel document applications are processed within service standards, and that passports are error-free and continue to adhere to international standards.
• Continuing a shift towards online services while maintaining the integrity of Canada’s passport. Expanding access to IRCC’s new online passport application channel to include additional simple, domestic simplified adult renewals, while exploring measures to expand eligibility to additional clients. IRCC will continue to improve features available for Canadians who renew their passports online and deploy a new system to support passport processing abroad. Facilitating processing through innovative measures such as AI models to check passport photo compliance before applications are submitted.
• Issuing remissions (refunds) to clients whose applications are processed outside of service standards. Starting in 2026–27, the Passport Program will introduce a single 100% refund policy when applications are processed beyond 30 business days. This will replace the current system of 25% refunds, for passports processed 1-10 days beyond service standards, and 50% refunds for passports processed more than 11 days beyond service standards, which has been confusing for clients and operationally onerous.
• Continuing to participate at International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) fora to ensure changes to international passport standards are implemented, following Canada’s successful re-election bid to the United Nations ICAO Council. IRCC will also support capacity building efforts abroad to facilitate international travel.
• Upgrading the Passport Facial Recognition Interface and modernizing its infrastructure. These enhancements will improve accuracy, reduce processing times, and bolster fraud detection, ensuring that Canada’s passport program remains secure, responsive, and globally competitive.
• Enhancing Canada’s passport systems to centralize processing in Canada. In 2026, IRCC will deploy a new system to support passport processing abroad. The new platform is based on an existing system that is already being used domestically.

DR 6: Eligible permanent residents become Canadian citizens

Results we plan to achieve

• Working to strengthen operational efficiency and program integrity by making decisions on citizenship grant applications within 12 months of receipt, while meeting Citizenship Program standards.
• Improving procedures and enhancing training to meet program goals and increase agility when processing applications.
• Leveraging technology to improve processing efficiencies and risk detection within citizenship knowledge testing, application assessment and client communications.
• Conducting information sessions to ensure clients are aware of application requirements.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

IRCC collects demographic data for the Citizenship Program and Passport Program, including gender (with an “X” option), date of birth, and place of birth. This information supports GBA Plus analysis and helps the Department design policies and services that avoid disproportionate impacts on clients who may face barriers in accessing services. The Passport Program also gathers demographic data through its annual Client Experience Survey. These insights help identify client preferences, identification of barriers to access, accessibility considerations, and service dissatisfaction trends within smaller demographics to continuously improve services for all of the clients IRCC serves.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 9: Planned resources to achieve results for Citizenship and Passports

Table 9 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Program inventory

Core Responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports is supported by the following programs:

• Citizenship
• Passports

Additional information related to the program inventory for Citizenship and Passports is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

• In an effort to better represent the shifts in Canada’s immigration landscape during the past 10 years, the reporting framework has been reviewed and significantly modified to:
  • Remove any past metrics that were not accurately measuring the Department’s progress toward achieving its mandate and program impact.
  • Include updated metrics that better report to Canadians on IRCC’s achievements towards upholding the integrity of Canada’s citizenship and passport systems, as well as the Department’s contributions to national and international security.
• Under this Core Responsibility, the new metrics have replaced reporting on citizenship grants and passport application volumes with an improved framework that focuses on measuring the programs’ integrity, efficiency and achievements with objective and evidence-based metrics.
• The new framework focuses on program impacts. It emphasizes safety and security, while providing quality and timely services to eligible Canadians.

Internal services

In this section

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• acquisition management services
• communications services
• financial management services
• human resources management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• legal services
• material management services
• management and oversight services
• real property management services

Plans to achieve results

This section details the Department’s plans to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.

Management and Oversight Services

• Producing an updated Strategic Plan (2026-2028), as well as monitoring and reporting on progress by conducting periodic reviews. The Strategic Plan is the internal guide for the Department on how to achieve its mandate and objectives; it provides direction to plan and prioritize work, allocate resources and mitigate risks.
• Developing risk analysis to guide IRCC’s strategic planning and resource allocation. Ongoing risk analysis also supports the Department in achieving plans and targets outlined in the Departmental Plan.
• Conducting policy-relevant research and disseminating findings to inform departmental priorities, and disseminating knowledge products and strengthening partnerships with academic and governmental organizations to enhance research impact.
• Assessing risks to data modernization initiatives, including to the DPM initiative. The risks are being actively managed, while recognizing ongoing dependencies on legacy systems and specialized workforce capacity.
• Completing the second phase of update to IRCC’s Departmental Results Framework to strengthen reporting on program outcomes and departmental results for Canadians.
• Advancing initiatives that strengthen privacy oversight and awareness, helping the Department meet its objectives while protecting personal information and maintaining public trust. IRCC is also leading efforts to embed privacy by design principles, and improve access to privacy guidance and advice through formal and informal channels.
• Improve client service and transparency through ongoing digital modernization efforts to reduce Access to Information volumes by enabling clients to easily access their application information online. IRCC is further strengthening its ability to uphold its obligations under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act by introducing a new case management software solution, improving the access to information and privacy Online Request form, and exploring the use of new automation tools.

Information Technology Services

• Continuing the roll-out of IRCC’s new single online account for clients, as part of the DPM initiative. This new account offers a more seamless online experience for clients with improved access to client support, a single online window to apply for IRCC services and programs, and real-time information about the status of applications.
• Beginning the gradual implementation of a new Case Management Platform, delivering digital components and capabilities, including advanced business rules and analytics tools that will help modernize how IRCC processes applications and supports officers in complex decision-making.
• Beginning the rollout of a new, modern Enterprise Data Platform which will help better manage IRCC’s large volume of data and provide real-time access to integrated information to enhance decision-making and collaboration. With enhanced storage, reporting, analytics, data migration, automation, and AI functionalities, the new Enterprise Data Platform will strengthen IRCC's capacity to manage, use, and share data securely and efficiently.
• Advancing enterprise data management practices by modernizing platforms, strengthening governance, implementing a target operating model, and advancing data services. Efforts will focus on improving data integrity, consistency, and quality across systems, while expanding self-serve analytics and lifecycle management practices. These improvements will enhance IRCC’s ability to deliver secure, reliable, and client-responsive data services that support operational efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Transforming information into a strategic asset that drives collaboration, efficiency, and innovation, while enhancing security and privacy protections, by implementing the 2025-2030 Enterprise Information Management strategy.
• Rolling out internal productivity tools to help manage and coordinate work efficiently.
• Enhancing IRCC’s digital infrastructure and ecosystem by leveraging advanced security, analytics, and communication capabilities through E5 enterprise licenses and service offerings; improving stability and resilience by upgrading critical IT systems, interfaces, legacy technologies, and APIs to support modernization and better service delivery.
• Driving operational efficiency and cost optimization through the expanded rollout of Microsoft 365 collaboration tools and integrated solutions, including MS Teams, MS Phones, and productivity applications, to streamline communication, enhance team collaboration, and significantly reduce IRCC’s mobile device footprint
• Maturing IRCC’s use of cloud services to improve cost management and efficiencies, and enhance security and improve scalability.
• Reducing IRCC’s reliance on long term consultants and external services and invest into continuing to develop an internal specialized IT workforce.

Human Resources Management Services

• Advancing a diverse high-performing workforce, inclusive workplace, and digital modernization by establishing a comprehensive departmental Workplace and Workforce Strategy. IRCC’s approach to human resources planning will help to align the Department’s operational and financial objectives.
• Guiding workforce reductions while ensuring that talent is optimally aligned with the organization’s highest-priority objectives. As part of this process, IRCC will cultivate collaborative relationships with management and union partners, and support mental health and wellness programs for employees.
• Streamlining internal services as part of IRCC’s CER commitments. This will include investing in internal capacity, and reevaluating human resources requirements including management layers.
• Developing and implementing an Equity Strategic Framework to champion a workplace culture that encompasses action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion, the Accessible Canada Act, and reconciliation commitments.
• Strengthening the Clerk’s Call to Action on Values and Ethics by delivering Values and Ethics Code engagement activities and training strategies.
• Bringing together key services through IRCC’s Ombuds Office, which provides impartial support for employees, managers, and executives to discuss workplace issues, resolve interpersonal conflicts, and address accommodation needs. The Ombuds will highlight recurring themes, identify systemic issues, and offer recommendations to improve workplace fairness and culture across IRCC in its first Annual Report, which will be completed in 2026–27.
• Continuing to support employees in preventing and resolving conflicts through specialized informal conflict management services, including coaching, mediation, and training.
• Helping to address complex accommodation issues by focusing on removing barriers across all grounds of discrimination and supporting the sound application of the Duty to Accommodate.

Real Property Management Services

• Advancing the Government of Canada’s space reduction mandate and long-term real property planning by collaborating with Public Services and Procurement Canada to implement future regional space reductions following the release of 20% of IRCC’s National Capital Region portfolio in 2025–26. This includes supporting workforce adaptation and ensuring that space strategies remain aligned with evolving workplace models and operational service delivery requirements.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 10: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year

Table 10 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for IRCC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

In the 2024–25 fiscal year, IRCC exceeded the 5% target and awarded 5.34%, approximately $29M out of a total $543.7M, in contracts to Indigenous businesses.

To foster inclusive procurement practices, IRCC encourages contracting officers and budget managers to actively consider Indigenous suppliers throughout all stages of the procurement process. This is done via leveraging the active Indigenous Business Directory, hosted by Indigenous Service Canada. 

In alignment with its commitment to inclusive procurement and Indigenous economic development, IRCC consistently prioritizes Indigenous businesses for acquisitions in key areas such as information technology and furniture. Moreover, when a requirement aligns with Indigenous market capacity, IRCC strongly encourages Indigenous procurement processes. This recommendation reflects the alignment between the nature of the requirement and the values, practices, or operational models of Indigenous businesses. By adopting this approach, IRCC not only streamlines procurement but also enhances the strategic fit between project goals and Indigenous supplier capacity.

IRCC remains committed to further expanding Indigenous participation by leveraging designated solicitation streams and mandatory set-asides in Informatics Professional Services contracts and by integrating Indigenous voluntary set aside into major procurements.

To support this goal, IRCC also promotes the use of Indigenous Participation Plans (IPPs), which allow prime contractors regardless of Indigenous ownership to subcontract portions of work to Indigenous firms. Beyond direct contracting, IPPs generate broader benefits for Indigenous communities by allocating parts of the contract value to initiatives such as training, career development, and scholarships for Indigenous Peoples. Overall, IPPs strengthen IRCC’s ability to engage more deeply with the Indigenous business community and help achieve its 5% procurement target.

Challenges to Achieving the 5% Indigenous Procurement Target

IRCC recognizes several factors that may affect its ability to consistently meet the mandatory 5% Indigenous procurement target. These include limited control over the volume and dollar value of procurement requests involving Indigenous processes, uncertainty around client preferences for Indigenous approaches, and delays in receiving and validating subcontracting data provided by prime contractors. These challenges can impact planning, resource allocation, and timely reporting. IRCC continues to manage Indigenous procurement strategy risks  and new procurement requests to address these issues proactively. One example is the inclusion of a Deputy Head exemption to remove Visa Application Centre services from the departments Indigenous target calculation, given the large dollar value and the work being done outside Canada.

The table below outlines the actual, forecasted and planned percentages of contracts awarded to Indigenous Business. No Deputy Head exceptions were factored into these calculations.

Table 11: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses

Table 11 presents the current, actual results with forecasted and planned results for the total percentage of contracts the Department awarded to Indigenous businesses.

Department-wide considerations

In this section

• Related government priorities
• Key risks

Related government priorities

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10, IRCC will advance its commitment to developing policies that address the challenges related to border crossing and mobility that Indigenous Peoples separated by Canada’s international borders face on a daily basis. Together, IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency are leading an Action Plan Measure under the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan to work in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, federal departments and international partners to pursue amendments to legislation, regulations and policies aimed at addressing these complex challenges.

IRCC will advance SDG 10, 12, and 13 by furthering workplace strategies. Key actions include enhancing Green Procurement, adapting to climate risks, ensuring safe waste disposal, and reducing workplace inequalities.

More information on IRCC’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in IRCC’s Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Artificial Intelligence

In 2026–27, IRCC will continue to advance the responsible adoption of AI to increase productivity, decrease operating costs, and improve service delivery, in alignment with the Government of Canada standards and policy constraints.

IRCC will scale the use of safe, transparent and human-centered AI solutions. Building on early experimentation with large language models and workflow automation, IRCC will prioritize AI solutions that:

• Inform and assist our officers, but do not replace the exercise of human discretion in administrative decision-making.
• Improve service delivery by helping employees to complete routine, repetitive, or time-consuming administrative tasks more efficiently.
• Provide employees with access to AI tools, including those to develop and test AI solutions in secure environments to support responsible experimentation and innovation within Government of Canada guardrails. This includes training employees and executives on using AI safely and effectively.

IRCC’s efforts to responsibly leverage AI aim to support employees in their work, optimize operations, and enhance service delivery, while upholding the Department’s commitment to fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI-enabled processes. Bolstering departmental AI governance and oversight by finalizing policy instruments, frameworks, and monitoring mechanisms will help to ensure compliance, transparency, security, and equity in AI use.

Key risks

IRCC operates in a complex and rapidly evolving environment shaped by global migration trends, technological advancements, shifting domestic priorities, and financial discipline. IRCC faces a range of strategic and operational risks that could affect its ability to deliver on its mandate. 

Shifting global migration trends, new humanitarian crises, and a lack of intake controls in some IRCC programs continues to challenge the Department’s processing capacity. These pressures intersect with the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which stabilizes permanent resident admissions and lowers temporary resident targets, and could lead to backlogs, longer wait times, and labour market challenges. To help improve and adapt IRCC’s processing capacity to this context, the Department is building a more agile workforce where employees are equipped with the skills and flexibility needed to operate across multiple functions and respond to dynamic service needs while also developing technical solutions to improve transparency and efficiency in client-facing services. The International Talent Attraction Strategy and Action Plan positions the immigration system to meet strategic labour market needs, while respecting immigration targets to ensure a sustainable immigration rate. Legislative measures, including the proposed Strong Borders Act, are also intended to enhance service delivery across the immigration continuum. 

A key risk relates to the implementation of DPM, a major transformation supporting all core programs. Given the scope of DPM, the most significant risk is competing departmental priorities and funding pressures, both of which could divert focus and resources. These risks are compounded by interdependencies between complex systems and demands on specialized digital talent, and the need to maintain legacy operating and data systems to sustain service levels. Together, these factors could lead to delays or limit the realization of desired benefits and outcomes, which are essential to IRCC’s ability to deliver efficiency gains and maintain an operationally sustainable budget. IRCC is mitigating these risks by prioritizing DPM within departmental plans and strategies, strengthening workforce capacity through targeted recruitment, upskilling, and knowledge transfer, and ensuring careful management of financial and human resources throughout its implementation.

Given the growing sophistication of fraud enablers and evolving global threat environment, challenges may arise in maintaining program integrity and public confidence. IRCC continues to reinforce safeguards through the expansion of information-sharing partnerships and leveraging digital solutions to increase program integrity. Border and immigration measures are also being enhanced to address complex security challenges including through the proposed Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act. Failure to address these risks could erode public trust and compromise Canada’s immigration objectives.

While overall residual risk levels remain moderate, IRCC continues to strengthen planning, prioritization, and risk management to ensure mitigation efforts are coordinated, adaptive, and aligned with priorities that support workforce resilience and sound financial stewardship.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of IRCC’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2026–27 with actual spending from previous years.

In this section

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

Spending

This section presents an overview of the Department’s planned expenditures from 2023–24 to 2028–29.

Graph 1: Planned spending by core responsibility in 2026–27

Graph 1 presents the Department’s planned spending in 2026–27 by core responsibility and for internal services.

Text description of Graph 1

Core responsibilities and internal services	2026–27 planned spending
CR 1. Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers	312,231,901
CR 2. Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration	3,423,546,530
CR 3. Citizenship and Passports	61,473,254
Internal services	619,629,932

Analysis of planned spending by core responsibility

In 2026–27, the department plans on spending $312.2 million under Core Responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers. Resources under this core responsibility will be used to facilitate the entry of persons who wish to come to Canada temporarily. IRCC processes visas, electronic travel authorizations, and work and study permits for tourists, business travelers, international students and temporary workers, whose spending and presence in Canada benefit the economy.

The department also plans on spending $3.4 billion under Core Responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration. Resources under this core responsibility will be used to facilitate the admission and economic and social integration of immigrants and refugees who intend to stay in Canada permanently. The Department selects economic immigrant applicants, processes family member applicants to reunite families, and processes refugee and protected person applicants to provide a safe haven for those facing persecution. In order to support immigrants and refugees in integrating into Canadian society, IRCC offers a variety of settlement support services through a network of service providers.

Furthermore, the department plans on spending $61.5 million under Core Responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports. Resources under this core responsibility will be used to promote the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, and issue secure and internationally recognized Canadian citizenship and travel documents so that Canadians can participate fully in civic society and so that travel is facilitated across borders while contributing to international and domestic security.

Finally, the department plans on spending $619.6 million for Internal Services. These resources are provided to the department to meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs.

Budgetary performance summary

Table 12: Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Table 12 presents IRCC’s spending over the past three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services. Amounts for the 2025–26 fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date.

Analysis of the past three years of spending

The 2024–25 actual spending increased by $514.3 million (or 9%) compared to 2023–24. The increase is mainly due to the one-time stand-alone payment to Quebec in recognition of expenses for the provision of services to asylum claimants, including temporary housing, to increased healthcare provision for eligible beneficiaries under the Interim Federal Health Program, to interim housing of asylum claimants under the Interim Housing Assistance Program, and to the increase in immigration levels plans. IRCC also made investments to stabilize its existing information technology infrastructure while advancing the transformation and modernization agenda and set the foundation for new digital services. These increases are partially offset by a decrease in expenditures as several temporary funding sources that have supported the department in recent years are coming to an end, including funding for the Afghanistan Resettlement Commitment, the drawdown of temporary accommodation provided to asylum claimants, and the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel.

The decrease in the 2025–26 forecast spending is mainly attributable to the difference between the funding received in 2025–26 and authorities used in 2024–25 for the following items:

• The one-time stand-alone payment to Quebec made in 2024–25 in recognition of expenses for the provision of services to asylum claimants, including temporary housing;
• The draw down of operation for temporary accommodations for asylum claimants;
• Reduced funding following the decision to reduce immigration levels as part of the 2025‑2027 Immigration Levels Plan;
• Reduced funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program for asylum claimant; and
• Decreased funding for the Afghanistan Resettlement Initiative.

These decreases are partially offset by additional funding for the following initiatives :

• Healthcare provision to eligible beneficiaries under the Interim Federal Health Program;
• The payment to the City of Toronto for Interim Housing Support to Asylum Claimants; and
• The implementation of Tranche 1 and 2 of the Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 programme, including the implementation of front-facing capabilities as well as the procurement and implementation of the back-end Case Management Platform.

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase. 

Table 13: Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Table 13 presents IRCC’s planned spending over the next three years by core responsibilities and for internal services.

Analysis of the next three years of spending

The total planned expenditures are decreasing by $1.1 billion (or 25%) over three years. The decreasing trend is mainly attributable to:

• The temporary top-up funding for the Interim Federal Health Program ending in 2026–27 to manage asylum-related expenditures as the system continues to respond to elevated claim volumes;
• Funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program for asylum claimants ending
  in 2026–27;
• Funding reductions stemming from the Comprehensive Expenditure Review;
• Temporary funding ending for the implementation of Tranche 1 and 2 of the Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 programme, intake as well as the procurement and implementation of the back-end Case Management Platform; and
• The temporary funding supporting the stabilization and integrity of Canada’s asylum system, including capacity to manage two new categories of ineligible claims.

The planned spending for 2026–27 to 2028–29 reflects the impact of the reductions announced in the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan as well as the impact of the funding for the Protected Persons in Canada and the In-Canada Workers one-time initiatives.

Even though the planned expenditures are decreasing over three years, the department will continue to enhance efficiency and boost productivity. The department is modernizing its operations, implementing new policies and infrastructure to improve services and transform the way it does business. This transformation will support IRCC’s ability to successfully achieve departmental results, now and in the future. Additionally, Budget 2025 introduced new measures to make federal programs and services more effective and focused. Greater efficiency will allow resources to be directed towards increasing public service productivity and improving how services are delivered to Canadians, particularly through the integration of technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

Table 14: Budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)

Table 14 reconciles gross planned spending with net spending for 2026–27.

Analysis of budgetary gross and net planned spending summary

Through its activities, the Department collects revenues on behalf of the government. Of these collected revenues, the Department has the authority to re-spend its revenues for the Passport Program and the International Experience Canada Program.

The International Experience Canada Program operates on a vote-netted revenue basis, where the Department has the permission to collect and spend revenues earned. Its revenues are generated through the collection of a participation fee.

The Passport Program operates on a full cost-recovery basis over its 10-year business cycle and generates revenues through fees paid for passports and other travel documents.

Information on the alignment of IRCC’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.

Funding

This section provides an overview of the Department’s voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.

Graph 2: Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period

Graph 2 summarizes the Department’s approved voted and statutory funding from 2023–24 to 2028–29.

Text description of graph 2

Fiscal year	Total	Voted	Statutory
2023–24	5,994,255,316	5,712,653,980	281,601,336
2024–25	6,508,539,896	6,206,634,631	301,905,265
2025–26	6,048,096,491	5,878,922,281	169,174,210
2026–27	4,416,881,617	4,288,756,962	128,124,655
2027–28	3,425,147,901	3,364,900,018	60,247,883
2028–29	3,293,902,762	3,179,071,253	114,831,509

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

The graph above presents the Department’s actual spending from 2023–24 to 2024–25, the forecast spending for 2025–26 based on approved authorities, and the planned spending for 2026–27 to 2028–29. As shown, IRCC’s actual expenditures increased between 2023–24 and 2024–25 mainly driven by the one-time payment to Quebec in recognition of expenses for the provision of services to asylum claimants, including temporary housing, higher costs under the Interim Federal Health Program, and under the interim housing support for asylum claimants, additional funding for the immigration level plans, and investments in IT stabilization and modernization.

The decrease in 2025–26 forecasted spending reflects the reduction of major sources of funding that peaked in 2024–25, including the one time payment to Quebec in recognition of expenses for the provision of services to asylum claimants, including temporary housing, immigration levels and the Interim Housing Assistance Program, as well as, declining support for key temporary initiatives, such as the Afghanistan Resettlement Initiative and the provision of temporary accommodation to asylum claimants.  These reductions are partly offset by increased funding for the Interim Federal Health Program, payment for interim housing support for the City of Toronto, and continued investments in Digital Platform Modernization.

The downward trend from 2024–25 to 2025–26 continues through the 2026–27 to 2028–29 Planned expenditures, driven largely by the end of temporary top‑up funding for the Interim Federal Health Program, reduced funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program, and budget reductions resulting from the Comprehensive Expenditure Review. The conclusion of temporary funding for Tranche 1 and 2 of Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 and lower funding under the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan also contribute to this decline.

The planned spending for 2026–27 to 2028–29 reflects the impact of the reductions announced in the 2026‑2028 Immigration Levels Plan as well as the impact of the funding for the Protected Persons in Canada and the In-Canada Workers one-time initiatives.

For further information on IRCC’s departmental appropriations, consult the 2026–27 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of IRCC’s operations
for 2025–26 to 2026–27.

Table 15: Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2027 (dollars)

Table 15 summarizes the expenses and revenues which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers for 2025–26 to 2026–27. The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

Analysis of forecasted and planned results

The decrease in spending from 2025‑26 to 2026‑27 is mainly attributable to decreases in funding for:

• The Interim Federal Health Program;
• The cumulative Immigration Levels Plan mainly following the decision to reduce immigration levels as part of the 2025-2027 and 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan;
• The Comprehensive Expenditure Review;
• The Interim Housing Assistance Program; and
• The Digital Platform Modernization Programme.

Total revenues are expected to increase by $25.4 million, or 4.1%, in 2026–27 compared to the 2025–26 forecast despite a decrease in overall volumes, mainly attributable to fee increases and a change in product mix, including higher volumes of 10-year adult passport renewals.

A more detailed Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations and associated Notes for 2026–27, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, is available on IRCC’s website.

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the Department’s actual and planned human resources from
2023–24 to 2028–29.

Table 16: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services

Table 16 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents, for IRCC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the 2025–26 fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

The 2024–25 actual FTEs increased by 121 (1%) compared with 2023–24. This growth is primarily attributable to workforce increases related to the efforts to stabilize the department’s existing information technology infrastructure while advancing its transformation and modernization agenda, laying the foundation for new digital services, the partial visa imposition for Mexico, and the implementation of biometrics for citizenship applicants. The growth is partially offset by reduced personnel funding for the Afghanistan Resettlement initiative and the special immigration measures for Ukrainians.

The decrease in the 2025–26 forecasted FTEs is mainly due to decrease in funding from the reduction in the 2025‑2027 Immigration Levels Plan, compounded with decreases from past initiatives such as the Afghanistan Resettlement initiative.

Table 17: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Table 17 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents, for each of IRCC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for the next three years.

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

The planned full time equivalent (FTE) workforce is projected to decline by 1,440 FTEs (13%) over the next three years. This reduction is primarily driven by the conclusion of several temporary funding and restrictive fiscal measures, including:

• The expiry in 2027–28 of temporary personnel funding supporting the stabilization and integrity of Canada’s asylum system, including capacity to manage two new categories of ineligible claims;
• The termination in 2027–28 of temporary funding for the implementation of Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3, Tranche 2, enabled through the acquisition of a new back end Case Management Platform;
• Reduced funding resulting from the decision to lower immigration targets under the 2025‑2027 Immigration Levels Plan;
• The end of the one time measure designed to accelerate the transition of work permit holders to permanent resident status in 2026 and 2027;
• The sunsetting of temporary funding for the Protected Person in Canada initiative; and
• Personnel funding reductions arising from the Comprehensive Expenditures Review.

The decrease in forecasted FTEs is partially offset by the fact that the 2026‑2028 Immigration Levels Plan indicates a more significant reduction in FTEs in 2026–27; this reduction then decreases and stabilizes starting in 2027–28.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information table is available on IRCC’s website:

• Details on transfer payment programs

Information on IRCC’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on IRCC’s website.

Federal tax expenditures

IRCC’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister: The Hon. Lena Metlege Diab, ECNS, K.C., P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar

Ministerial portfolio: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Enabling instruments: Section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the Citizenship Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and the Canadian Passport Order.

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1994

Departmental contact information

Mailing address:

365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Canada

Telephone: 1-888-242-2100

Email: ParliamentaryReports-RapportsParlementaires@cic.gc.ca

Website: Immigration and citizenship - Canada.ca

Definitions

List of terms

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3-year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.

government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2026–27 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2025 Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

Requirements for verifying Indigenous businesses for the purposes of the departmental result report are available through the Indigenous Services Canada Mandatory minimum 5% Indigenous procurement target website.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government’s financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of a department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.