COW – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Main Estimates (2025–2026) – June 9, 2025
Key Facts and Figures
- In the 2025–2026 Main Estimates, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) has requested $345.4M ($315.3M permanent and $30.1M temporary funding) to make well-reasoned decisions on immigration and refugee matters, efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law.
- This $345.4M in funding will allow the Board to process up to 85,000Footnote 1 refugee claims, 11,500 refugee appeals, 9,000 detention reviews, 1,200 admissibility hearings and 3,000 immigration appeals for 2025–2026 with a workforce of approximately 2,450 full-time equivalent employees.
- In Budget 2024, the government approved:
- providing the IRB with $64.5M in 2025–2026, including $33.7M ongoing, to support the stability and integrity of Canada’s asylum system.
- That said, intake volumes far exceed the IRB’s funded capacity, with intake of over 173,000 refugee claims in fiscal year 2024–2025.
- Planned spending for 2025–2026 is split at 67% for asylum, 11% for immigration, and 22% for internal services (see details in table).
| Program (in dollars) | 2025-26 Planned Spending | Percentage of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Refugee Protection Decisions | $172,932,742 | 50.07% |
| Refugee Appeal Decisions | $58,829,105 | 17.03% |
| Admissibility and Detention Decisions | $16,991,230 | 4.92% |
| Immigration Appeal Decisions | $22,197,290 | 6.43% |
| Internal Services | $74,446,955 | 21.55% |
| Total | $345,397,322 | 100.00% |
- In fiscal year 2024–2025, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) finalized over 78,700 cases, surpassing its funded target of 60,000. During the same period the RPD received 173,000 asylum claim referrals: an increase of 10% over the previous fiscal year.
- As of March 31, 2025, the IRB had an inventory of 175,800 claims that were ready to be heard. In addition, a further 105,500 claims were incomplete due to a pending security screening and/or other outstanding requirement.
Key Messages
Main Estimates 2025–2026
- The IRB’s 2025–2026 Main Estimates total $345.4M.
- The main sources of funds for the 2025–2026 Main Estimates are the following:
- $281.6M in permanent funding, including in-year adjustments, related to statutory authority, compensation adjustments, and others.
- $64.5M in funding from Budget 2024 to increase asylum claim finalizations, ensuring continuity of the investment from Budget 2022 top-up ending in 2024–2025. While this represents a small increase from Budget 2022 top-up funding, it reduces in 2026–2027 and ongoing to $33.7M.
- $0.7M in transfers to Shared Services Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat for two Memoranda of Understanding.
- The IRB’s 2025–2026 Main Estimates of $345.4M represents an increase of $10.9M when compared to 2024–2025 Main Estimates of $334.5M. This increase is mainly from the statutory Employee Benefit Plan rate that is established by the Treasury Board Secretariat on an annual basis, increase for compensation adjustments and a temporary increase in B2024 funding over B2022 top-up funding.
- It should also be noted that the 2025–2026 Main Estimates budget level has not been adjusted as per the second phase of the Responsible Government Spending announced in Budget 2024, pending central agencies’ decision.
Supplementary Information
- The IRB is the country’s largest quasi-judicial administrative tribunal. Headquartered in Ottawa with locations in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, the IRB has a budget of $345.4M and 2,450 full time employees.
- The IRB is mandated to hear and make well-reasoned decisions on immigration and on in-Canada refugee matters efficiently, fairly, and in accordance with the law.
- The IRB consists of four divisions:
- Refugee Protection Division—Determines whether a refugee claimant meets the definition of a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention (i.e. due to a fear of persecution) or is a person in need of protection (i.e. face torture, a risk to life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment).
- Refugee Appeal Division—Considers appeals against decisions of the Refugee Protection Division to allow or reject claims for refugee protection.
- Immigration Division—Conducts hearings on immigration-related matters, including whether a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible on certain grounds, and in the case of non-citizens who are detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whether there are grounds for continued detention.
- Immigration Appeal Division—Hears appeals on immigration-related matters, including refusal of sponsorship applications, the issuance of removal orders to permanent residents or protected persons, and loss of permanent resident status.
- In fiscal year 2024–2025, the IRB issued a record 102,500 immigration and refugee-related decisions.
- The IRB has been increasing its capacity to finalize more cases and is continuously working to further streamline and simplify processes to realize efficiencies and optimize its operational capacity.
- While over the last 10 years (since 2015–2016) the IRB workforce has grown by 156%, asylum decision output over the same period has grown by over 415%. Most recently, the implementation of the IRB’s Horizon 2026–2027 strategic initiatives contributed to a 42% year-over-year increase in finalizations of refugee claims, from 55,300 in 2023–2024 to 78,700 in 2024–2025. And if current operating parameters do not change, it is anticipated that the IRB will realize a further increase in finalizations in 2025–2026.
- Canada’s asylum system continues to face key challenges, including high asylum claim intake levels—157K in 2023–2024 and 173K in 2024–2025—and the ongoing risk that geo-political uncertainty or developments could further drive demand.
- For the past five years, the acceptance rate at the Refugee Protection Division is on average 63%, with fluctuations over time due to country and type of claims received.